Rensselaer Union and Jasper Republican, Volume 8, Number 28, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 30 March 1876 — The Meadow-Lark. [ARTICLE]

The Meadow-Lark.

The Meadow-Lark (Stumella magna) is a rustic bird. Its very name has a rural savor, betraying the localities in the open country where it is most thoroughly at home. Iti? identified with green, still, and sunny fields and pasture lands, where, through all the Northern States east of the Mississippi, it may be found from the early davs of March until about the close of October. It is in such situations that it has its abiding place, and there only do we expect the gratification of its enticing songs and its dainty beauty. In the last of April or the beginning of May, the Meadow-Lark lays the foundations of its dwelling. These, of course, rest on the earth; for the bird lives in open lands, generally where trees are absent or infrequent. The materials of which it builds are of the slightest. Its domicile nestles in the grass. It is shaded and sheltered by the grass, and it is the prettiest and most suitable thing in the world that it should be wholly made out of the grass. And so it is. A trail structure, knit and woven round and round in a loose, careless, yet sufficiently enduring way, with a smooth surface, lined with fine bent, iorming the inside. You would probably sever find it, long and vigilantly as you might search, unless you chanced to flush the bird. Then you would see how cunningly the nest is concealed, and how almost impossible it is to discover it unaided. The skillful builders roof it with grass, so as completely to hide its interior; while, still further to render their secret impenetrable, they construct an arched entrance, which is approached by a covered and winding path. The birds are ingenious architects, as this description will attest. Their eggs are large and handsome, with brown dots speckling the whole white surface, or sometimes gathering in clusters-exclusive-ly at the larger end. The song of the bird is exceedingly attractive. The tone is pure, and plaintive, and penetrating. The notes are very few, and pitched in a high key. It is an easy matter to set them on a musical staff, so simple is the succession, and so invariable. They range through only two or three half-tones, and can be admirably im-' Hated on the piano. Ornithologists often describe the song as a whistle, but inaccurately So. It is a complete melody, and, quickly as it closes, is one of the most captivating that drop from the bill of a bird. The lark is included in the limited choir of songsters which retain their voice throughout the season; but. along in midsummer, the flue quality of its organ is apt to be impaired,'and it occasionally loses a note or tw o from- some -part of ita already brief strain. Yet, in

rbe autumn, it usually recover* the sweetness apd fullyew of lie accents, and.tbest;, ringing out cnrtbe air, pleasingly .accord in their pensive character with the rnehmcboiy of the season. ).[ Wnen the engrossing domestic duties of pe bird'are annually concluded, it develops a taste for social life, and onlarges the circle of ita companions- It roves the fields thenceforth it: parties us ten or. a dozen- a convenient number, aa all will agree, for the Interchange of tho amenities of friendly intercourse. The lark is garnished with such brilliant plumage that it looks, when cantering about the fields, like some gay flower broke loose from its moorings ana off on a prance. The upper parts are clothed In brown—the jtopular shades—delicately trimmed witli black, and the breast is set off with the richest yellow, while a broad, crescent-shaped necklace of Jet —count it of black diamonds—encircles the throat. The relationships of tlfo bird would scarcely be guessed. It belongs to the family of Startings; and the saucy Bobolink, the red-winged Blackbird, the beautifhl Orioles, the swindling Cowbird, and the various Grachles, or Blackbirds, are all its cousins. The Lark is plump in size, and iB reckoned a rare bit in the larder of the gourmand. In truth, its flesh is considered barely inferior to that of the Partridge; but who, with a soul to music and beauty,could endure any sacrifice of these for the sake of a fine dinner? It Is mournful to sec the lovely birds bung up in the market, so many thrilling songs and so many charming visions are lost to the world with each Meadow-Lark that is slain by the sportsman.— Chicago Tribune.