The Migration of North American Birds 



SECOND SERIES 



VI. HORNED LARKS 



Compiled by Harry C. Oberholser, Chiefly from Data in the Biological Survey 



The Horned Larks are among the most puzzling as well as most interesting 

 of North American birds. They are the only native Larks in North America, 

 but have not the usual gift of song that has made famous some of the European 

 members of the family. All the American Horned Larks belong to a single spe- 

 cies and exhibit geographic variation to a degree shown by few birds. No less 

 than twenty-three subspecies of Otocoris alpestris inhabit America, and they 

 range as far south as Bogota in Colombia, and north to the Arctic Ocean. 

 All but five of these forms occur in North America proper, and there are others 

 to be described. The distribution of the North American races is as follows: 



The Homed Lark {Otocoris alpestris alpestris) breeds in northeastern 

 North America, north at least to Hudson Bay; west to Hudson Bay; south to 

 the southern end of James Bay and to Newfoundland; and east to Labrador. 

 It winters west to Manitoba and Nebraska, south to Louisiana and South 

 Carolina; and is of casual occurrence in Greenland and the Bermuda 

 Islands. 



Hoyt's Homed Lark (Otocoris alpestris hoyti) breeds in middle northern 

 Canada, north to the Boothia Peninsula; west to the valley of the Mackenzie 

 River; south to Lake Athabaska; and east to Hudson Bay. It winters south to 

 Nevada, Kansas, Ohio, and Long Island, N. Y. 



The Pallid Homed Lark {Otocoris alpestris arcticola) breeds in north- 

 western North America, north to northern Alaska; west to western Alaska; 

 south to southern Alaska and central British Columbia; and east to Yukon 

 Territory. It ranges in winter south to Oregon, Utah, and Montana. 



The Saskatchewan Homed Lark {Otocoris alpestris enthymia) breeds 

 north to central Saskatchewan; west to eastern Montana, eastern Wyoming, 

 and eastern Colorado; south to northwestern Texas; and east to central Kansas, 

 central Nebraska, and central North Dakota. In winter it ranges south to 

 southern Texas, and casually west to Utah and Arizona. 



The Prairie Homed Lark {Otocoris alpestris praticola) breeds in the north- 

 eastern United Stales and southeastern Canada; north to souihwestern (Quebec 

 and central Ontario; west to western Manitoba, eastern .North Dakota, and 

 eastern Kansas; south to central Missouri, central Ohio, and Long Island. .\. \ .\ 

 and east to New Brunswick. It winters south to Te.xas and South Carolina- 

 casually southwest to Colorado and .\rizona. 



The Texas Horned Lark {Otocoris alpestris t^iraiuli) is a permanent 

 resident in I lie coast region of Texas and northeastern Tamaulipas. 



The Desert Horned Lark (Otocoris alpestris Uncolaevia) breeds in the 



U4S) 



