LAND BIRDS. 407 



187. Horned Lark. Otocoris alpestris alpestris {Limi.). (474) 



Synonyms: Northern Horned Lark, Winter Horned Lark, Shore Lark. — Alauda 

 alpestris, Linn, 1758. — Eremophila alpestris, Boie. Alauda cornuta, Wilson. — Eremophila 

 cornuta, Boie, 1828, Coues, 1861. — Otocoris alpestris, A. O. U. Check-list, 1886, and most 

 recent authors. 



The little feather-tufts or ''ears" which suggested the name ''Horned 

 Lark," and the very long, nearly straight claw on the hind toe, are dis- 

 tinctive of the Horned Larks; the present species may be separated from 

 the Prairie Horned Lark by its larger size, the deeper yellow on the throat, 

 and the yellow line over the eye, but the two forms are readily confounded 

 by any but the expert. 



Distribution. — Known to nest only along the coast of Labrador and north- 

 eastern America, probably west to Hudson's Bay; in winter south to the 

 northern United States regularly, and occasionally as far as the Carolinas 

 and the Ohio River. Its range as yet has not been satisfactorily separated 

 from that of Hoyt's Horned Lark, but the latter is decidedly more western 

 in its distribution. 



The Horned Lark and the Prairie Horned Lark are so similar in general 

 appearance, and have been so generally confounded by observers, that it 

 is difficult to say how common this species really is in Michigan. Ap- 

 parently it occasionally spends the winter in the state, mingling more or 

 less with its near relatives, but withdrawing northward in the late winter 

 or early spring, and returning southward again in autumn. Mr. Wilbur 

 H. Grant observed a flock of 20 near Houghton, Houghton county, October 

 2, 1904, and took specimens, one of which is now in the University of 

 Michigan collection (No. 31775) at Ann Arbor. Another specimen in the 

 same collection (No. 30278) was taken by Dr. JMorris Gibbs in Montcalm 

 county, October 20, 1883. In the collection of the Kent Scientific Museum, 

 Grand Rapids, there are skins of four males, all taken in Kent county, 

 one by Stewart E. White, November 1, 1890, the other three, May 6, 1878, 

 by C. W. Gunn. In the collection of Mr. Newell A. Eddy of Bay City, 

 there is a fine specimen of a male taken at Bay Shore, Bay county, October 

 9, 1890, and identified by A. K. Fisher of Washington. Other specimens 

 taken at the same time belong to the subspecies praticola. Mr. H. A. 

 Purdy, of Plymouth, states that it is sometimes seen in winter, but that 

 its place is quickly filled in spring by the Prairie Horned Lark. ]\Ir. Swales, 

 of Detroit, does not know of any record for southeastern Michigan. It 

 was found in some numbers on Isle Royale, Lake Superior, in the autumn 

 of 1905 by the University expedition, the first small flocks appearing as 

 early as September 13, but increasing in size within a few days until single 

 flocks contained 200 or 300. On the Charity Islands, at the mouth of 

 Saginaw Bay, N. A. Wood found it fairly common in the fall of 1910, the 

 first one appearing on September 18. A series of typical specimens was 

 taken (Wilson Bulletin, XXIII, 1911, 98). 



There is no reason to suppose that it ever nests within our limits. Its 

 habits while with us in fall and winter are similar to those of the Prairie 

 Horned Lark, with which it associates freely, yet flocks of the two species 

 frequently keep distinct. Like the Prairie Horned Lark it nests on the 

 ground, the nest being deeply sunken in the moss or herbage, and the eggs 

 closely resembling those of the other subspecies. There were no eggs of 

 this species in the United States National Museum in 1895, according to 

 Captain Bendire, and so far as we know none have been taken since. Mr. 



