540 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



replacement of 

 the outer pri- 

 mary wing feath- 

 ers, the loss of 

 which, in short- 

 ening the wing, 

 makes flight dif- 

 ficult and the 

 long trips to and 

 from the uplands 

 practically im- 

 possible. Hence 

 they are seldom 

 seen and it might 

 easily be thought 

 that they 

 had left for 

 other parts. 



Thus it is with 

 other birds also. 

 They cease sing- 

 ing and go into 

 hiding until the 



A SPOTTED S.\LAM.\NDER 



Note its molted skin. Snakes and salamanders molt the cuticle entire by splitting it at the nose and wiggling 



out. They molt at irregular intervals, dependent largely upon the food supply. Birds, on the other hand, molt at a i *.,I.^ 



fixed time, once or twice a year, losing but a few feathers at a time and replacing them as fast as they are lost, UnQertaKC, 



molting is prac- 

 t i c a 1 1 y CO m- 

 pleted, but it is 

 not long before 

 they regain their 

 former vitality 

 and some even 

 revive their full 

 springtime 

 songs. The ma- 

 jority, however, 

 prefer to rest 

 after their stren- 

 uous labors, fill- 

 ing their crops 

 with fruits and 

 seeds and laying 

 up a storage of 

 fat that will 

 serve them in 

 the long jour- 

 neys that they 

 are about to 



The Larks 



m LTHOUGH over 225 members of the lark family, 

 / \ including species and sub-species, have been de- 

 ^ ^ scribed, there is but one species, the horned lark, 

 found in North America, all others being found in Europe, 

 Central Asia and the plains of Africa. The North Ameri- 

 can bird is widely distributed from ocean to ocean and 

 from Mexico to Alaska, btit is most abundant in the 

 Mississippi Valley. It is a permanent resident wherever 

 found, except in the northern part of its range, and its 

 non-migratory habits and general adaptability ha\c 

 brought about a great deal of variation in the birds living 

 in different parts of the country, as many as 20 geographic 

 races having been recognized. The bird, for example, 

 found along the Atlantic coast in winter and nesting in 

 Labrador and Hudson Bay region is the common horned 

 lark or shorelark ; the bird of interior New England, 

 New York and the Mississippi Valley is the prairie 

 horned lark, while further west we find the pallid, the 

 desert, the ruddy, the scorched and the dusky-horned 

 larks. All, however, are so similar as to be indistin- 

 guishable except by a specialist. 



Although the horned lark is the only native species of 

 lark, the European skylark has been introduced into 

 Oregon and Long Island and while not multiplying very 

 rapidly, it still holds its own and sings with all the fervor 

 of its European brothers. The meadowlark, which is 

 even more abundant than the horned larks, belongs to the 

 blackbird family (Icteridse) and will not be considered 

 at this time. 



Larks, in general, are sparrowlike birds but with 

 smaller, rounded bills, rounded tarsi and greatly elongated 

 hind toe-nails. The American horned larks are easily 





.ja.'««' 



«* >. 



0t^ml 



A PRAIRIE HORNED LARK 



Showing the characteristic black markings about the face. Larks are perma- 

 nent residents in all except the most northern parts of their range and are 

 found throughout North America. 



distinguished from any of the sparrows by the curious 

 black markings about the face and the little tufts of 

 erectile black feathers on the head. They frequent open 



