ONTARIO. 



The Shore Lark, with which I became acquainted twenty- 

 five years ago, is a rare winter visitor in Ontario, only a few 

 being observed. They usually are found in company with the 

 Snowbirds, and are thoroughly terrestrial in their habits, seldom 

 alighting anywhere but on the ground. While here they spend 

 most of their time, during the short days of winter, searching 

 for their daily fare on bare gravelly patches, from which the 

 snow has been blown away. Occasionally toward the end of 

 March, just before leaving, I have seen the male settle himself 

 on a hillock and warble out a pleasing Lark-like song, which is 

 probably given with more power and pathos later in the season 

 near his grassy home, with his mate for an audience. 



This is the northern type of the family, and it is believed to 

 be identical with the British bird of the same name. In 

 Ontario it is as rare as formerly, its breeding place being far to 

 the north and east, but we have now a pale race which spends 

 the summer with us, a description of which will follow this. 



184. OTOCORIS ALPESTRIS PRATICOLA HENSH. 474 b. 

 Prairie Horned Lark. 



Adult-male in spring, posterior portion of the crown, occiput, nape, 

 sides of the neck and breast, lesser wing-coverts and shorter upper tail 

 coverts, light vinaceous ; back, scapulars and rump grayish-brown ; the 

 feathers with darker centres, becoming darker and much more distinct on 

 the rump ; middle-wing coverts light vinaceous terminally, brownish -gray 

 basally. Wings (except as described), grayish-brown, the feathers with 

 paler edges, outer primaries with outer web chiefly white. Middle pair of 

 tail feathers light-brown (paler on edges), the central portion (longitudinally) 

 much darker, approaching dusky ; remaining tail feathers uniform black, the 

 outer pair with exterior webs broadly edged with white. Longer upper tail- 

 coverts light-brown edged with whitish and marked with a broad lanceolate 

 streak of dusky. Forehead (for about .15 of an inch) yellowish-white, this 

 continued back in a broad supercilliary stripe of nearly pure white ; fore-part 

 of crown (for about .35 of an inch) deep black, continued laterally back to 

 and including the ear-like tufts ; lores, suborbital region, and broad patch on 

 cheeks (with convex posterior outline) deep black, jugular crescent also deep 

 black, this extending to lower part of throat ; chin and throat pale straw- 

 yellow, gradually fading into white on sides of fore-neck ; anterior half of 

 ear-coverts white, posterior half drab-gray, each portion forming a crescent- 

 shaped patch. Lower parts posterior to the jugulum crescent pure white, 

 the sides of the breast light vinaceous, the sides similar but brown and 



185 



