BIRDS OF THE ARID PLAIN 89 



merely keeping a watchful eye on the human meddler, 

 and making no outcry when she saw her infant in my 

 possession. I may have been persona non grata, but, if so, 

 she did not express her feeling. This was the youngest 

 horned lark seen by me in my rambles on the plains. 



Perhaps the reader will care to know something 

 about the winter habits of these birds. They do not 

 spend the season of cold and storm in the mountains, 

 not even those that breed there, for the snow is very 

 deep and the tempests especially fierce. Many of them, 

 however, remain in the foothills and on the mesas and 

 plains, where they find plenty of seeds and berries for 

 their sustenance, unless the weather chances to be 

 unusually severe. One winter, not long ago, the snow 

 continued to lie much longer than usual, cutting off 

 the natural food supply of the larks. What regimen 

 did they adopt in that exigency ? They simply went 

 to town. Many of the kindly disposed citizens of Colo- 

 rado Springs scattered crumbs and millet seeds on the 

 streets and lawns, and of this supply the little visitors 

 ate greedily, becoming quite tame. As soon, however, 

 as the snow disappeared they took their departure, not 

 even stopping to say thanks or adieu ; although we 

 may take it for granted that they felt grateful for 

 favors bestowed. 



Besides the horned larks, many other birds were 

 found on the plain. Next in abundance were the 



