2 
THE NATURALIST AND COLLECTOR 
the twilight, whether of morning or 
evening; but during the pairing time 
his song may be heard the whole 
day long. 
It is said by good authorities that the 
bird is half domestic in its habits, pre¬ 
ferring the neighborhood of places 
where man has settled, and where the 
culture of the soil affords better sus¬ 
tenance. Present facts go to support 
this view, for they are certainly to be 
found in great numbers throughout 
the regions where irrigation has 
changed the barren plains into rich 
farms and gardens. 
As soon as the rigor of winter has 
given place to the warmer days of 
spring, the meadow-larks appear upon 
the plains. At first few in numbers, 
no sooner do the plains don their sum¬ 
mer robes, and the flowers become 
lavishly abundant, than they appear 
on every hand, and their song's ever fill 
the air with melody. 
Besides his song tones and melodies 
the bird has a cry of alarm and warn¬ 
ing which has little of the pleasing 
character of his other notes. It con¬ 
sists of a sharp, loud chirp, very rapid¬ 
ly repeated, and there is no fear of 
misinterpreting its meaning. In walk¬ 
ing over the short buffalo-grass of the 
plains, and among the cactus beds 
which infest the whole region wherever 
irrigation has not destroyed them, one 
is suddenly startled by this musical 
rattle, and turning the eye in the 
direction of the sound, the meadow¬ 
lark will be seen skimming along in a 
straight line, a few feet from the ground 
until he has reached a safe distance. 
The bird nests upon the ground, 
choosing a protected spot; it may be a 
bunch of weeds, or, if upon the open 
plains, it often selects a clump of sage¬ 
brush or a bed of cactus. If the former 
is chosen, a convenient opening is made 
well within the clump; and there the 
the nest is built. If the cactus bed is 
preferred, the meadow-lark hollows 
out a little place in the ground, lines 
it with soft and curly buffalo-gra» ,, 
and then builds over it a little canopy, 
pulling down the long-er blades which 
grow even among the thick-set lobes of 
prickly-pear upon the uplands, and 
weaving them together until a small, 
conical covering is made, having in one 
side of it a round opening to serve for 
a door. The location of the nest is 
such as to afford protection from the 
tramping hoofs of cattle-herds that 
feed upon the plains, and which care¬ 
fully avoid treading upon the long, 
sharp spines of the cactus. There the 
bird rears one, and sometimes two, 
broods of young, which are ready for 
self-sustenance and flight in July. 
In August, when the mating season 
is ended, the songs of the meadow-lark 
of the West are heard more rarely, and 
then only in the early morning. In 
October the bird leaves this latitude, to 
pass the winter months in the warmer 
climes of New Mexico. 
— Anon. 
