PALLID HORNED LARK 321 



Tlie mother remained close at hand while we watched the young bird, uttering 

 a solicitous call-note resembling chipew, chipew. 



Specimens taken in this and neighboring localities proved to be 

 typical of arcticola. He sums up the status of the pallid horned lark 

 in Washington as follows: "The subspecies occurs as a common 

 migrant and breeding bird at least from July to September in the 

 Alpine-Arctic Zone of the Cascade Mountains south at least to Mount 

 Rainier (Taylor) ; east to Chopaka Mountain (Taylor) ; and west to 

 Mount Baker (J. M. Edson) ; in winter, as early as November and 

 probably to March, it is found in the lowlands of eastern Washington, 

 north and east to Cheney, south to Walla Walla (Lyman) ; and west 

 to Moses Lake (Cant well) and Benton County (Decker) ; it is of 

 accidental occurrence, during migration, in western Washington 

 (A. K. Fisher).'' 



I cannot find any information on the nesting of this subspecies 

 except the following brief statement by Maj. Allan Brooks (1909) : 

 "Mr. [C. de B.] Green this year took the eggs of the Pallid Horned 

 Lark on the high mountains above timber line, between the Okanagan 

 and Similkameen valleys and collected the female, which is now in 

 my collection. This is the breeding form on all the high mountains 

 of the Province, Otocoris a. merrilli being restricted to the arid lower 

 levels ; nowhere do their breeding ranges impinge on each other." 



I do not know what became of the eggs collected by Mr. Green, who 

 is not now living. 



Probably the nesting habits of this race and its eggs are not mater- 

 ially different from those of alpestris or hoyti. 



The measurements of three eggs from the Pearson ISIountains, 

 British Columbia, are 23.7 by 16.5, 23.2 by 16.1, and 23.3 by 15.5 

 millimeters ; three eggs from the Ashuola Mountains, Wash., measure 

 24.1 by 16.5, 22.8 by 16.5, and 22.8 by 16.0 millimeters; these are well 

 within the limiting measurements of eggs of the northern horned 

 lark and, in fact, average about the same in size. 



The plumage changes of the pallid horned lark are apparently 

 similar to those of the other races of the species. Mr. Swarth (1922) 

 writes: "Two adult males, taken July 23, are beginning the annual 

 molt, shown mostly in the wing coverts. The young bird, taken July 

 23, is in juvenal plumage throughout. Compared with the young of 

 various southwestern subspecies of Otocoris aJpesb'is, it is extremely 

 dark colored. Ground color of the upper parts is blackish, throat 

 and lower belly are white, and there is hardly a trace of rufous or 

 vinaceous anywhere." 



The food and general habits of this race are probably similar 

 to those of the other northern subspecies, with due allowance for the 

 difference in its alpine habitat. 



