250 SHORE-LARK. 



on the ear-coverts joins the black on the throat ; while a paler 

 Tibetan form has been distinguished as O. longirostris. In the desert 

 region between Morocco and Arabia Petroea, we find a resident, 

 well-marked, tawny species, O. bilopha. Our bird is found in 

 Greenland and the eastern portions of Arctic America, but the re- 

 mainder of that continent is distributed by American trinomialists 

 among no fewer than seven subspecies ; and O. peregrina inhabits 

 the high lands of Bogota, 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 : average measurements "9 by "63 in. In Norway and Lapland 

 breeding often begins by the middle of May, two broods being pro- 

 duced 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 utters 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 ; forehead, throat, 

 and a broad stripe above the eye and enclosing the ear-coverts 

 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 6 "5 

 to 7 in. ; wing about 4*4 in. The female is smaller, with less black 

 on the head ; the erectile tufts are wanting; and her general colour 

 is duller. The young male resembles the female ; the nestling is 

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

 spicuous. After the moult the feathers on the head in the adults 

 are much tinged with yellow. 



