Lark-Bunting 407 



92, p. 101 ; Cooke 97, pp. 19, 109, 217 ; Keyser 02, p. 285 ; Henderson 

 03, p. 236 ; 09, p. 238 ; Warren 06, p. 23 ; 08, p. 24 ; 09, p. 16 ; 

 Oilman 07, p. 157 ; Markman 07, p. 157 ; Gary 09, p. 183. 



Description. — Male — General colour black above and below, middle 

 and greater coverts white forming a conspicuoiLs wing-patch ; narrow 

 white borders and tips to many of the wing and tail-feathers and 

 coverts, these often wearing off later in the summer ; iris brown, 

 bill dusky blue, legs dark horn. Length 5.25 ; wing 3.50 ; tail 2-75 ; 

 cuhnen .55 ; tarsus .90. 



The female is buffy-brown above streaked with diLsky, and white 

 below streaked with blackish ; the wing-patch as in the male but rather 

 smaller and tinged with bxiffy. The male in winter is like the female, 

 but the bases of the feathers, especially of the imder-parts, are black, 

 and tend to show through ; the chin also is black. The yoLing bird 

 is also lilie the female but is more buffy. 



Distribution. — The great plains of middle North America between 

 the Missouri and the Rocky Mountains, breeding from Assinaboia to 

 Kansas, south in winter through Texas to southern California and the 

 Mexican plateau as far as Guanajuato. 



In Colorado the Lark-Bunting is one of the commonest summer 

 birds on the dry eastern prairie portion of the State. It enters the 

 foothills and mountain parks, but is not often seen at elevations above 

 8,000 feet, though found breeding by Carter (Cooke 97) near Dillon 

 at 8,800 feet. On the western side of the range it was met with by 

 Warren at several localities in Routt co. near Yampa and Steamboat 

 Springs, and Gihnan observed it near Cortez in the extreme south-west 

 corner of the State. Other localities are : near Greeley (Markman), 

 Boulder co. (Henderson), Denver (Henshaw), South Park (Allen), 

 El Paso and Lincoln cos. (Aiken), Pueblo (Lowe), Salida (Frey), near 

 Saguache (Cary), and Monon, Baca co. (Warren). 



The Lark-Bunting arrives early in May (April 30th at Monon, May 

 9th at Pueblo), the males first, the females about a week later ; they 

 leave again at the end of August. Cary saw a belated fall-migrant 

 as late as November 7th near Saguache in San Luis Valley. 



Habits. — ^This bird, often miscalled the Bobolink in 

 Colorado, is one of the most characteristic features of 

 prairie bird-hfe. It is usually met with in flocks of twenty 

 to forty birds in early May, and again after the breeding 

 season is over, when the post-nuptial moult has taken 

 place and the sexes are alike. It is a bird of powerful 

 flight, delighting to struggle agamst the strongest gales 



