238 



LAND-BIRDS AND GAME-BIRDS 



outermost white-edged. Throat and superciliary line, pale 

 yellow. Large patch or crescent on the breast, and smaller one 

 under the eye, black. Belly, etc., white. (In fall and winter- 

 specimens, tints generally duller, and markings more obscure.) 

 In living specimens the lengthened feathers above the ear form 

 two slight " horns." Feet black. Hind-claws very long. 



Fig. 11. Shore Lark (). 



(6). The Shore Larks breed far to the westward and north- 

 ward of New England ; but, though " seen by Mr. W. Brews- 

 ter, in July, 1869," they have never been known to breed in 

 this State. Their nests are built on the ground, and their 

 eggs are grayish, thickly marked with brown, and sometimes 

 lilac, and average -90 X '65 of an inch. 



(c). The Shore Larks come to New England, from the North, 

 in October, and remain until April. They may be found in 

 Massachusetts, throughout the winter, in loose scattered flocks, 

 often associated with other birds, such as Snow Buntings, 

 chiefly on the beaches and marshes along the shore, and never, 



