A History of North American Birds; Land Birds; Vol. 2 of 3Baird, Spencer Fullerton
Science
A History of North American Birds; Land Birds; Vol. 2 of 3
Baird, Spencer Fullerton
Birds -- North America
Dr. Heermann states that these birds collect in flocks of many
thousands with the species of _Agelaius_, and on the approach of
spring separate into smaller bands, resorting in May to large marshy
districts in the valleys, where they incubate. Their nests he found
attached to the upright stalks of the reeds, and woven around them, of
flexible grasses, differing essentially from the nests of the
_Agelaii_ in the lightness of their material. The eggs, always four in
number, he describes as having a ground of pale ashy-green, thickly
covered with minute dots of a light umber-brown.
Mr. Nuttall states that on the 2d of May, during his western tour, he
saw these birds in great abundance, associated with the Cowbird. They
kept wholly on the ground, in companies, the sexes separated by
themselves. They were digging into the earth with their bills in
search of insects and larvæ. They were very active, straddling about
with a quaint gait, and now and then whistling out, with great effort,
a chuckling note, sounding like _ko-kuk kie-ait_. Their music was
inferior even to the harsh notes of _M. pecoris_.
Several nests of this species, procured in the marshes on the banks of
Lake Koskonong, in Southern Wisconsin, were sent me by Mr. Kumlien;
they were all light, neat, and elegant structures, six inches in
diameter and four in height. The cavity had a diameter of three and a
depth of two and a half inches. The base, periphery, and the greater
portion of these nests were made of interwoven grasses and sedges. The
grasses were entire, with their panicles on. They were impacted
together in masses. The inner portions of these nests were made of
finer materials of the same. They were placed in the midst of large,
overflowed marshes, and were attached to tall flags, usually in the
midst of clumps of the latter, and these were so close in their growth
that the nests were not easily discovered. They contained, usually,
from five to six eggs. These are of an oblong-oval shape, and measure
1.02 inches in length by .70 of an inch in breadth. Their ground-color
is of a pale greenish-white, profusely covered with blotches and finer
dottings of drab, purplish-brown, and umber.
GENUS STURNELLA, VIEILLOT.
_Sturnella_, VIEILLOT, Analyse, 1816. (Type, _Alauda magna_, L.)
[Line drawing: _Sturnella magna._
1303]
[Illustration: _Sturnella magna._]
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