266 LARKS 



edged inside with dark brown ; chest brownish buffy. indistinctly streaked 

 or spotted with tawny. 



Distribution. — Europe and portions of Asia and Africa; introduced and 

 naturalized in Oreg-on. 



Nest. — On ground in meadows or open grassy places, l^ggs : 3 to 6, 

 buffy whitish or pale grayish brown, thickly speckled with brown. 



GENUS OTOCOmS. 



General Characters. — Crown with horn-like erectile tufts ; primaries 

 apparently only nine ; tail nearly even ; bill conoid, acute ; tarsus round 

 behind, in young divided into plates on back ; hind claw equal to or longer 

 than its toe, nearly straight. 



KEY TO ADULT MALES IN SUMMER. 



t 



^^ 



Fig. 343. 



1. Upper parts pale grayish brown or pinkish. 



2. Upper parts uniform scorched brown or pinkish. Central southern 



Arizona adusta, p. 269. 



2'. Back of neck pinkish, conti^asting with back. 



3. Throat usually white or whitish. To Utah in winter. 



leucolcema 1 (arcticola of Oberholser), p. 206. 

 3'. Throat usually yelloAvish. Great Plains and Great Basin. 



4. Superciliary yellow\ Coast of Texas . . . giraudi, p. 268. 

 4 . Superciliary white. 



5. Back paler. Western United States. 



arenicola- {leucolcema of Oberholser), p. 268. 

 5'. Back darker. Eastern United States . . praticola, p. 268. 

 1'. Upper parts dark brown and ruddy or pinkish. 

 2. Back heavily streaked with blackish. 



3. Back of neck ruddy brown strigata, p. 268. 



3'. Back of neck pinkish merrilli, p. 269. 



2'. Back not heavily streaked with blackish. 



3. Back of neck light ruddy brown. Coast of California. 



chrysolaema =^ {actia of Oberholser), p. 268. 



3'. Back of neck deep ruddy brown. Sacramento and San Joaquin 



valleys, California rubea, p. 268. 



474a. Otocoris alpestris leucolaema (Caues). Pallid Horned 

 Lark.^ 

 Adult male in breeding plumage. — Front of crown, horn-like tufts, lores, 



' Lerifolsema of authors (not of Cones) has been named arcticohi by Mr. Oberholser. 

 (See Oberholser, " A Review of the Larks of the Genus Otocoris," Proc. U. S. Saf. 

 Mils., vol. xxiv. pp. 801-884.) 



- This should stand as leucolspma of Coues. 



■^ Chrysolsenut has been restricted to Mexico, and the California coast bird referred to 

 this race has been named actia bj' Mr. Oberholser. 



•» This is the same subspecies as arenicola of Heushavv. 



Otocoris alpestris leucausiptila Oberholser. 



Palest of American horned larks. Like leucoliema, but smaller and with more uniform 

 upper parts. 



Distribuiioii. — Extreme southwestern Arizona, extreme southeastern corner of Call- 



