446 ALAUDID^E. 



brown ; legs, toes, and claws, bluish black, the hind claw 

 straight, and longer than the toe. This is the plumage of 

 autumn. In winter, the black on the crown of the head, on 

 the cheeks and chest, becomes dusky brown. In summer, 

 Mr. Audubon says, the brownish black bands on the head 

 and neck become deep black ; the throat and frontal band 

 white, and the upper parts of the body light brownish red. 



A female, killed on Lake Superior, described by Dr. 

 Richardson, " wanted the black horned mark, and also the 

 vinacious tint of the head, neck, and shoulders of the male, 

 these parts being coloured like the back ; the eye stripe, 

 and under surface of the head lemon yellow, and there was 

 a narrow black band fringed with yellow on the upper part 

 of the breast. The rest of the plumage nearly as in the 

 male ; her dimensions a little smaller." 



The young males of the year, after their first autumnal 

 moult, resemble the adult female. 



The whole length of an adult male about seven inches. 

 From the carpal joint to the end of the quill-feathers four 

 inches and one quarter : the first three quill-feathers very 

 nearly equal in length, and the longest in the wing ; the 

 first feather a little longer than the third ; the fourth quill- 

 feather a quarter of an inch shorter than the third. 



This pointed form of wing affords great power of flight, 

 and may help to account for the very extended geographical 

 range of this species. 



