THE HORNED LARK. 
198 
bark form the bulk of the nest. The structure does not often embrace the 
sustaining brances, but the ends of its component strips are made fast to the 
rough bark of the sapling; besides this, frequent guy ropes and stays of gos- 
samer are thrown out. A snug lining of roller grass and horse-hair completes 
the home, which measures commonly one and seven-eighths inches across 
and one and a half deep, inside. ‘Two broods are sometimes raised in a 
season. 
No. 89. 
HORNED LARK. 
A. O. U. No. 474. Otocoris alpestris (Linn.). 
Synonym.—SwHor~ Lark. (This name is perpetuated solely through an 
accident of discovery, the type specimen having been described by Catesby 
from “‘the Seashore of Carolina.”). 
Description.—Adult male in breeding plumage: Upper parts warm brown 
or fuscous, clearest on wings and tail, feathers everywhere heavily edged with 
rufous; middle of crown, occiput, nape, sides of neck, bend of wing, and upper 
tail-coverts, pinkish cinnamon; fore-crown, cheeks and juguiar crescentic patch 
black; forehead, superciliary stripe, auriculars and throat primrose yellow; 
belly and crissum white; sides and flanks brownish. Adult female: Similar to 
male, but duller and paler, the black especially being obscured by brownish or 
buffy tips. Winter plumage of both sexes distinguished by somewhat heavier 
and more uniform coloring, save on black areas, which are overcast by buffy 
tips; fore breast dusky or obscurely spotted. Length about 7.75 (196.9); av. of 
four Columbus males: wing 4.26 (108.2) ; tail 2.87 (72.9) ; bill .48 (12.2) ; tarsus 
.84 (21.3). 
Recognition Marks.—Sparrow to Chewink size; black throat and head 
patches; feather tufts or “horns” directed backward. ‘To be distinguished from 
O. a. praticola by its larger size, and from O. a hoyti by the fact that both throat 
and superciliary line are yellow. 
Nesting.—Does not breed in Ohio. Nest, a cup-shaped depression in the 
surface of the ground, plentifully lined with fine grasses, moss, grouse feathers, 
etc. Eggs, 3 or 4, greenish- or grayish-white, profusely and minutely dotted 
with olive-buff, greenish brown and lavender. A typical set from Labrador, as 
described by Major Bendire, measures .96 x .66 (24.9 x 16.8); .95 x .68 (24.1 
*€ W718) 5 asy/ 26 Aone (AA Sz T16).3}))e 
General Range.—Northeastern British America west to Hudson Bay and 
south to Newfoundland, Labrador, etc.; accidental in Greenland; in winter west 
to Manitoba and south to Illinois, Ohio, the Carolinas, etc. 
Range in Ohio.—Common winter resident, especially in the northern part. 
Moves about in flocks in conjunction with O. a. hoyti and O. a. praticola. 
