ios6 



Rural School Leaflet, 



Fig. 86. — The nest of the Prairie Honied 

 Lark. Note the pile of dirt excavated by the 

 birds to form a basin in which the nest was 

 built 



tseet" as the Horned Lark flies 

 overhead, or hear the rather 

 squeaky song from the frozen 

 fields. 



As soon as the frost leaves 

 the ground, often before the 

 middle of March, the Larks 

 have mated and begun to 

 build their nests. Most of 

 these early nests are placed 

 in the closely cropped grass 

 of old meadows where the 

 ground is fairly well drained. 

 And what a task it is to find 

 one ! . Placed in a little basin 

 which they have scratched 

 in the sod, the top just hush 

 with the surface of the 

 ground, one must have sharp 

 eyes indeed if he would find it. So early is this first nest built that 

 very often it is overtaken by a late March snowstorm and the mother 

 bird is buried beneath several inches of snow until slie is sometime? 

 forced to desert it. 



As soon as the young of the first brood can leave the nest the father 

 bird takes care of them while the mother busily engages herself in build- 

 ing another nest. This time she leaves the grassy meadows for the more 

 open ground oi the stubble field or potato patch, so that often one finds 

 a nest in the open unplowed ground about our gardens. It is from 

 this time on that they run along ahead of us in rows or in the path, and 

 when we get too close mount upward in that peculiar step-like flight. 

 Often a third nest is built and young raised as late as June or July. 



The Prairie Horned Lark gets its name from the fact that it formerly 

 lived only on the prairies of the west. With the clearing of the forests, 

 however, it has extended its range until now it is found throughout the 

 meadows and cleared lands of New York State. Its eastern and northern 

 cousin, the Shore Lark, is rare in New York State, and comes to us only 

 occasionally in winter. 



Suggestions 



What to look for. — A grayish brown bird, slightly larger than a sparrow, 

 with a yellowish throat, a black tail and peculiar black markings about 

 the head and breast. 



