198 BIRDS OF PENNSYLVANIA. 



head and line over eye and lower parts except the sides, and sides of breast, which 

 are very similar to back, white, long tufts or " horns" black ; chin and throat yel- 

 low ; very long hind claw ; middle tail feathers about same as back ; the rest black, 

 the outer pair with white outer webs. 



Habitat. Northeastern North America, Greenland and northern parts of the Old 

 World ; in winter south in the eastern United States to the Carol inas, Illinois, etc. 



The Horned Lark is a somewhat common winter resident in eastern 

 Pennsylvania. It arrives in this region, from its northern breeding 

 grounds, early in November, and remains until about the last week in 

 February. These birds, during their residence with us, are usually 

 found in small parties of twelve or twenty, occasionally, however, flocks 

 of a hundred or more are seen. The Horned Larks frequent fields, or 

 other similar open situations, where seeds of different weeds and grasses 

 are procurable. When deep snows cover their favorite feeding grounds, 

 they oftentimes are observed in public roads throughout the country 

 districts searching for food ; they also at times, when driven by hunger, 

 visit barnyards. 



According to Nuttall their food consists of various kinds of seeds 

 which remain on the grass and weeds, and the eggs and dormant larvae 

 of insects, when they fall in their way. In the stomachs of thirteen of 

 these birds, taken in Chester and Delaware counties (Pa.), I found that 

 eleven had fed on different kinds of small seeds ; two, in addition to 

 small seeds, had fed on grain (particles of corn and oats). 



The Prairie Horned Lark (0. a. praticola, Hensh.,) is the common 

 form in the region of Lake Erie, where it occurs as a regular summer 

 resident. This last named geographical " race " or variety, is the bird 

 which occurs throughout the western and central parts of the state. It 

 is smaller and paler in color than the typical alpestris. The nest is 

 built in a depression of the ground in a field, the eggs, said to be 

 usually four in number, are described as a light-greenish or dull-greenish 

 buff, spotted with different shades of brown. 



NOTE. In the spring of 1852 Mr. John Gorgas, of Wilmington, Dela- 

 ware, liberated about fifty Skylarks (Alauda arvensis, Linn.), which he 

 had imported from England, near the city of Wilmington. For a period 

 of about two years these birds were seen at irregular intervals in the 

 counties of Chester and Delaware, Pa., but in the fall of 1854, 1 am in- 

 formed by Mr. B. M. Everhart, of West Chester, they disappeared and 

 have not since been seen. 



FAMILY CORVID<ffi. CROWS, JAYS, ETC. 



THE CROWS AND JAYS. 



Five species of this family are found in Pennsylvania. The American Crow and 

 Blue Jay are two of the best known species, both are common and are found with 

 us during all seasons. The Fish Crow occurs as a summer resident in a few locali- 

 ties in southeastern Pennsylvania, chiefly along the Delaware and Susquehanna 

 rivers. The Raven, a resident in the wildest of our mountainous regions, is, in some 



