22 Bird - Lore 



Penns>lvania, central and nortliern New York, and Ontario, to western 

 Massachusetts, Vermont and New Hampshire, and appears to be yearly 

 extending its range eastward. In winter it ranges southward to South 

 Carolina and Texas. 



Season. — The Horned Lark is found in the middle-eastern states as a 

 winter visitant between October and May. The Prairie Horned Lark is 

 resident throughout the larger part of its breeding range, but wanders 

 southward between October and April. 



Color. — Larks are almost invariably colored dull brownish, gray, or 

 sandy above and, with few exceptions, are whitish streaked or blotched 

 with black below. 



Size. — The average size of Larks is from 7 to 8 inches, few species 

 being much smaller than these dimensions. 



External Structure. — An unusually long hind toe-nail is the common 

 characteristic of almost all Larks; the back of the tarsus is rounded; 

 the outer primary is usually short or rudimentary, the bill, in our species, 

 is rounded and rather slender, and in the genus Otocorys a pair of feather- 

 tufts or "horns" appears on the sides of the head. 



Appearance and Habits. — Larks are terrestrial and consequently are 

 walkers, not hoppers. They inhabit open tracts of country, where, after 

 the nesting season, they usually are found in flocks. The Horned Larks 

 have the outer tail feathers marked w^ith white, which shows when the 

 bird takes flight — an excellent field-mark, which, however, is also pos- 

 sessed by the Vesper Sparrow. 



Song. — Great variability is exhibited in the songs of Larks, the Sky 

 Lark having vocal powers which have made it famous, while some species 

 are comparatively unmusical. As a rule, however, they all agree in sing- 

 ing on the wing, as is customary among terrestrial species which do not 

 mount to a perch when uttering their song. 



Family 3. Crows and Jays. CorviJtP. 6 species, 3 subspecies. 



Range. — The nearly 200 Crows and Jays known to science are found 

 in all parts of the world except New Zealand. They are more common 

 in the northern than in the southern hemisphere, and in America no 

 Crows, and comparatively few Jays, are found south of the Isthmus of 

 Panama. 



Season. — Changing the nature of their food as circumstances require. 

 Crows and Jays are usually resident wherever found. Our Crows and 

 Blue Jays, however, migrate and are less common, or wanting, at the 

 northern limit of their range in winter than in summer. 



Color. — Crows and their near allies are, as a rule, entirely or largely 

 black; Jays are usually more or less brightly colored, blue being varied 

 with black and white, being a common type of coloration. In both 

 groups the sexes are essentially alike in color. 



