Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-12-07
BIRDS AND PLANTS
To be Found on the Plains at the
Foot of the Rocky Mountains.
THE CACTI INDICATE LATITUDE.
How the Familiar Meadow Lark Changes
His Voice in the West.
A SONG THAT CAME BACK INA DREAM
WRITTEN FOR THE D1sPATcH.J

so lnter-convertable that the fauna and 1ors
OF the North and South are wonderfully
blended. Here varieties of Eastern specie,
are interesting. because, while so like, they
are yet so unlike; and new species are con-
stantly challenging the close observers at
tention. 1t is remarkable how little iour.
ney into the world quickens our faculties Of
observation. I have seen tourists out West
Juggling around specimens" that might
easily have been found near home had ap-
probation of natures treasures been as keen
there as it was abroad.
Our English friends, as rule, are ahead
OF us in this respect. The more uncultured
OF them have an appreciation of the little
things of rural lie that very largely
broadens their field of endowment. The
strange wildness of the plains so impresses
them that they prattle about it almost as
retreshipgly as a child. l recall walk
taken some years ago with such a companion
one hot June afternoon out to the lakes
north OF Denver for fish and exercise. Be-
sides some notes that are before me now, we
got little other than the exercise.
LATITUDE AND THE CACr1.
The plains were at their prettiest then.
The Mexican poppy, with its large, white
flowers, and the evening primrose, similar
but not so stately, surrounded by host of
smaller beauties, were conspicuous, while
1t was no strong simile to say that the
yellow and pink cacti spangled the earth as
the stars do the sky. How expressive of
climatic influences the cacti arel At the
North they are apt to be dwaried and melon
shaped; at the South they increase in height
till they culminate in trees in the tropics
One can nearly tell his latitude by their
size and varieties. The common prickly
pear here scarcely puts more than one leaf
above another, while one or two hundred
miles further south it attainS an altitude, so
to speak, of four or FIVE stories. Species Of
the cacti are found on the Arkansas that are
never seen on the Platte.
The dry air and hot sun of these high
plateaus affect familiar birds, sometimes in
plumage, sometimes in song, often in both.
others, however, strictly maintain eVery
eastern peculiarity in every respect. These
latter puzzle the American evolutionist, for
the exceptions are about as great as the rule.
The English Darwinian smiles in bis COM
placencY at those that do not change.
and says: There have been no re-
cent variations of the species" and
thinks the matter is rendered clear. The
| one thinks ii circumstances make the
| man" they should also make the bird. The
| other believes in "blood," and that the
| only way to get away from it is to sport into
new variety of the old species, and then
| circumstances help to maintain the perma-
nency of the new kind.
MEADOW LARKs OUT WEST.
An excellent illustration is the familiar
meadow lark. HIS sauey chatter, his impu-
dent shake of the tail, his low, jerky, fit
ting flight, his lovely plumage and song are
| among our earliest remembrances; and when.
on the walk mentioned, one huttered from
the ground, in the old way, to the top of a
low cottonwood, /, without thinking. ex-
Pected the old song had heard so often. I
knew OF the Western birds peculiarities of
song, had L thought moment, but as it
| gurgled forth my feelings were shocked
for the instant by the strange
| perversion of a familiar melody, Con-
noisseurs in bird music pronounce the
western song the sweetest. From a strictly
musical standpoint / am compelled to adj
nit 1T but as what you might expect il
seems almost a deseeration, as though one
sang an old hymn in variations or a mother
suddenly changed strain of a familiar
lullaby from soprano to bass
Indeed this seems sto be the great differ
enee. that whereas the Eastern bird sings in
high key and ends in high note the other
maintains his song in a low pitch and ends
In a low tone with sort of liquid gurgle
not unlike the swamp or red-winged black
bird. Again and again did this little bind.
with every attitude of his Eastern brother.
sing his new song in the old wav, till INV
friend caught it with his whistle and could
repeat 1t cleverly. In vain did try to re-
produce for him the old song. The new one
had entire possession and had perverted my
memory.
SONG IN A DREAM.
The matter worried Inc. That night, tired
and restless in my sleep the Eastern birds
sang around me in dream, and the re-
membrance OF their songs was ringing plain
ly in my ears next morning. My mind had
struggled on with the task while my body
slept.
think it was Lewis and Clarke who first
brought back East an account of this old
bird with new song. Audubon and other
naturalists had been calling our old one
Sturneila Ludoviciana, S. Magma, etc., etc.,
but now they very appropriately styled the
new one S. Neglecta-and, strange to say,
they call him that yet; but they have been
wrangling ever since as to whether he is
variety or 4 species. The difference in
plumage peculiarities are never yery
marked, and the two kinds in this respect
are claimed to shade into each other in direct
proportion to the amount of rainfall But
this does not apply to their songs, Tor where
the two birds are found occupying the same
IerIltoTY Lnelr songs are quite distinct. Once
in Missouri 1 shot Neglecta in the act of
singing and likewise Magma, and by the
closest scrutiny with the aid Of the books L
could perceive no plumage difference.
DIDN'T DIssECr HIS VOICE.
It occurred to me that they might have
been distinguished by the dissection of the
vocal apparatus, but L was not anatomiss
enough for that. Such a thing as hybrid
ism of voice, think, has never been re-
corded. Ouce, while sneaking onto some
ducks with very unsentimental eompan-
ion, heard a hoarse song from lark that
sat not lar away which / thought possibly
was from hybrid. wanted to turn aside
and investigate it. but the old hunter ex-
claimed: 20, come on; 'snothin' but tee
lark with bad cold" and as Just then the
ducks began to rise was perhaps the more
easily persuaded that be was correct.
Our bird is not lark at all-let Us not
forget that-but rather an oriole-mors
properly a startling. But there are larks on
the plains here and others more truly resem-
bling larks than our Sturnella, but our stroll
shall have to be extended. Shall we 20
again some other day? hope so.
JAMES NEWTON BASKET.