SHORE LARK. 



445 



brood is reared eacli season. The food of the Shore Lark 

 consists of grass seeds, the blossoms of dwarf plants, and 

 insects. It is an expert catcher of flies, following insects on 

 wing to a considerable distance, and now and then betaking 

 itself to the sea-shore to search for minute shell-fish or 

 Crustacea." 



Captain James Ross, in his Appendix to the Narrative of 

 the Second Voyage of Sir John Ross to the Arctic Regions, 

 says, " One Shore Lark shot by us near Felix Harbour, 

 agreed well with the descriptions of authors. Two others 

 were all that were seen by us ; it is therefore but rarely 

 met with above the seventieth degree of latitude." 



The adult male has the beak bluish horn colour, almost 

 black ; the irides hazel ; the lore, or space between the 

 beak and the eye, and the cheeks, black ; the ear-coverts, 

 and a streak over the eye, yellow ; the forehead also 

 yellow, bounded on the top of the head by a broad black 

 transverse band, which ends on each side with a few 

 elongated and pointed black feathers, these the birds can 

 elevate at pleasure ; the occipital portion of the head, the 

 nape, back, and upper tail-coverts, hair brown, the central 

 line of the feathers being darker than the edges ; the back 

 of the neck and the smaller wing-coverts tinged with red, 

 the latter tipped with white ; the greater wing-coverts and 

 tertials dark brown, with light brown margins ; wing- 

 primaries and secondaries dark brown, with very narrow 

 light-coloured edges ; the two centre tail-feathers dark 

 brown, with light brown margins; the others pitch black, 

 except part of the edge of the outer web of the outside 

 feather on each side, which is white ; chin, throat, and sides 

 of the neck, primrose yellow ; upper part of the breast with 

 a gorget of black ; the lower part of the breast, the belly, and 

 under tail-coverts, dull white ; flanks tinged with reddish 



