HORNED LARK. 127 



these races are found in the eastern United States, the 

 Horned Lark and the Prairie Horned Lark. The former 

 visits us in the winter ; the latter occurs at all seasons, 

 but during the summer is found only in certain regions. 

 At this season it inhabits the upper Mississippi Valley, 

 whence it extends eastward through northwestern Penn- 

 sylvania and central New York to western Massachu- 

 setts. From October to April it may be found with the 

 Horned Lark as far south as South Carolina. The two 

 birds differ in size and color. The Horned Lark's wing 

 averages 4'2T inches in length, the Prairie Lark's wing 

 averages but 4*08 inches in length ; the former's forehead 

 and eye-line are yellow, the latter's white. 



Horned Larks are eminently terrestrial, rarely if 

 ever choosing a higher perch than a fence. When on 

 the ground they do not hop, but walk or run. "When 

 flushed they take wing with a sharp, whistled note, but 

 often return to the place from which they started. When 

 nesting, they may be found in fields, pastures, and plains 

 in scattered pairs, but during the winter they are asso- 

 ciated in flocks, which resort to the vicinity of the sea- 

 coast or large open tracts in the interior. The nest is, 

 of course, built on the ground. The eggs, three or four 

 in number, are pale bluish or greenish white, minutely 

 and evenly speckled with grayish brown. 



The Horned Lark, like its famous relative and many 

 other terrestrial species, sings while on the wing, soaring 

 high above the earth, and often repeating its song many 

 times before alighting. The effort is worthy of better 

 results, for the bird's song is simple and unmusical. 



