SHORE LARK. 407 



betaking itself to the sea-shore to search for minute shell-fish 

 or Crustacea." 



Captain James Ross, in his Appendix to the Narrative of 

 the Second Voyage of Sir John Ross to the Arctic Regions, 

 says, " One Shore Lark shot by us near Felix Harbour, 

 agreed well with the descriptions of authors. Two others 

 were all that were seen by us ; it is therefore but rarely met 

 with above the seventieth degree of latitude." 



The adult male has the beak bluish horn colour, almost 

 black ; the irides hazel ; the lore, or space between the beak 

 and the eye, and the cheeks, black ; the ear-coverts, and a 

 streak over the eye, yellow ; the forehead also yellow, bound- 

 ed on the top of the head by a broad black transverse band, 

 which ends on each side with a few elongated and pointed 

 black feathers, these the bird can elevate at pleasure ; the 

 occipital portion of the head, the nape, back, and upper tail- 

 coverts, hair brown, the central line of the feathers being 

 darker than the edges ; the back of the neck and the smaller 

 wing-coverts tinged with red, the latter tipped with white; 

 the greater wing-coverts and tertials dark brown, with light 

 brown margins ; wing-jirimaries and secondaries dark brown, 

 with very narrow light-coloured edges ; the two centre tail- 

 feathers dark brown, with light brown margins ; the others 

 pitch black, except part of the edge of the outer web of the 

 outside feather on each side, which is white ; chin, throat, 

 and sides of the neck, primrose yellow ; upper part of the 

 breast with a gorget of black ; the lower part of the breast, 

 the belly, and under tail-coverts, dull white ; flanks tinged 

 with reddish brown ; legs, toes, and claws, bluish black, the 

 hind cljiw straight, and longer than the toe. This is the 

 plumage of autumn. In winter, the black on the crown of 

 the head, on the cheeks and chest, becomes dusky brown. 

 In summer, Mr. Audubon says, the brownish black bands on 

 the head and neck become deep black ; the throat and frontal 



