26o SHORE-LARK. 



Black and Mediterranean Seas, though not recorded up to the 

 present from the Spanish Peninsula ; while eastward, it descends to 

 Baikalia, Mongolia and Northern China. The area between Bosnia 

 and the Altai Mountains is inhabited by a recognizable species, 

 O. petticillata, in which the black on the ear-coverts joins the black 

 on the throat ; while a paler Tibetan form has been distinguished as 

 O. lortgirostris. In the desert region betvveen Morocco and Arabia 

 Petrsea there is a resident and well-marked tawny species, O. hilopka. 

 Our bird occurs in Greenland, and the eastern portions of Arctic 

 America, but, according to American trinomialists, no fewer than 

 eleven sub-species are distributed over the remainder of the Western 

 Continent ; while O. peregrina inhabits the high lands of Colombia. 

 The nest, slightly made of grass and plant-stalks, with willow- 

 down and reindeer-hair for a lining, is placed in some hollow of 

 the ground, or among stones on a hillside. The eggs, 4-5 in 

 number, are greenish-white, minutely freckled and often boldly 

 zoned with olive-brown, and occasionally scrolled with black hair- 

 lines : measurements "9 by '63 in. Breeding often begins in Nor- 

 way and Lapland by the middle of May, and two broods are 

 produced during the season. In autumn small flocks are formed, 

 which rove about in search of food, principally seeds, though in 

 summer beetles and other insects are eaten ; the Shore- Lark is also 

 partial to the small molluscs and crustaceans found on the sea- 

 shore. It is a tame and confiding species, frequently entering the 

 streets of towns and villages in the north of Europe, and up to the 

 end of June it may be heard uttering its pleasant and rather mellow 

 song from some post, rail or barn-top, or while hovering in the air. 



The adult male has the lores and cheeks black ; throat, forehead, 

 and the eye-stripe enclosing the ear-coverts and joining the throat, 

 yellowish-white ; across the front of the crown a black band, termi- 

 nating in an erectile tuft of black feathers on each side of the 

 head ; nape and mantle pinkish-brown ; wing-coverts tipped with 

 white, quills brown ; middle tail-feathers warm brown, the rest 

 nearly black, with whitish margins to the outer pair ; upper breast 

 broadly banded with black ; under parts dull white, with brown 

 streaks on the flanks ; bill greyish-black ; legs black. Length 7 in. ; 

 wing 4-3 in. The female is smaller (wing barely 4 in.), with less 

 black on the head \ the erectile tufts are wanting, and her general 

 colour is duller. The young male resembles the female ; the nest- 

 ling is dark brown mottled with buff, but the black ear-patches are 

 conspicuous. In the adults after the moult the feathers on the 

 head are much tinged with yellow. 



