324 THE BIRDS OF MAINE 



paper but readily recognized. They are often associated with 

 the Prairie Horned Larks and Snowflakes, particularly inland. 

 They consume an enormous quantity of grass and weed seeds 

 of various sorts, such as dock, Polygonum^ Atriplea.\ Ammo- 

 phila, Cnkile and similar things. Their nests and eggs are 

 not greatly different from those of the Prairie Horned Lark 

 and are similarly situated. 



474b. Otocoris alpestris pratkola Hensh. Prairie Horned 

 Lark. 



Plumage : very similar to that of the Horned Lark from which it is dis- 

 tinguishable by its smaller size, white forehead and line over the eye, and 

 throat which are entirely white or but slightly tinged with yellow. Wing 

 4.00 ; tail 2.70. 



Geog. Dist. — Upper Mississippi Valley and Great Lake region, eastward 

 through New England to Maine and New Brunswick ; casual or accidental in 

 Labrador ; wintering in the Southern States. 



County Records. — Androscoggin ; a specimen taken from a flock of eight 

 or ten near Lewiston by C. D. Farrar, February 26, 1897, (Farrar) ; nesting 

 at Livermore, (Swain). Aroostook; Fort Fairfield and Fort Kent at season 

 when they must have been breeding, (Knight). Cumberland; a flock of 

 twenty-five seen at North Bridgton and four secured by J. C. Mead, March 

 13, 1897, (Mead). Franklin ; summer resident of Eustis and Avon, common 

 in migrations, (Sweet). Hancock; summer resident, seemingly rare, 

 (Knight). Kennebec ; nesting at Benton, (Swain). Knox; (Swain). Lin- 

 coln ; (Swain). Oxford ; observed between Andover and Norway, August 12, 

 1899, (Norton). Penobscot; quite common some seasons in February, 

 March and April, a few remain all summer, (Knight). Piscataquis; speci- 

 mens seen from the county, (Knight). Somerset; found nesting at Pishon's 

 Ferry and observed in nesting season at various other places, (Swain). 

 Waldo ; both spring and summer resident in quite fair numbers, (Knight). 

 Washington ; one taken here, (Boardman). 



Spring specimens have been seen or taken as early as February 



tenth, and in various inland counties the species occur locally 



in small flocks of ten or a dozen or associated with the Horned 



Larks in mixed flocks during late February and March. A 



few scattered individuals, probably more in the aggregate than 



we imagine, remain to breed in many localities throughout the 



State, but by late September all seem to have withdrawn 



southward. There is no reason why the species should not 



