Horned Larks 645 



and usually an elongated hind claw. The bill is variable in shape, but has the 

 edges of both mandibles smooth, except for a notch in the upper one. The 

 head is often crested or furnished with erectile tufts or horns. They are generally 

 sociable, and, when not breeding, often gregarious birds, frequenting princi- 

 pally open plains, cultivated areas, or arid deserts, walking and running with 

 ease and celerity on the ground and rarely alighting on trees. To "sing like 

 a Lark " has become a proverb, and it is well founded, for the celebrated European 

 Skylark, which belongs here, may be taken as the typical musical member of the 

 family; the song is usually given while the birds are soaring in the air. Some 

 of the Larks are migratory, while others are stationary or only very partially 

 migratory. They are especially developed in the Palaearctic area, being abun- 

 dant in Europe, central Asia, and the more open parts of Africa, only a portion 

 of one genus being indigenous to America. As might be presumed, they all 

 nest on the ground, constructing usually a very slight structure of grasses in a 

 hollow or under a tuft of grass. 



Horned Larks. The only native representatives of the family in the New 

 World are the Horned Larks (Otocoris\ which are easily distinguished by 

 the short, stout, somewhat conoid bill, and a narrow, elongated tuft or "horn" 

 of feathers springing from each side of the head, while in coloration they are 

 mixed brown, rufous, cinnamon, pinkish, yellowish, white, and black. Occur- 

 ring over practically the whole of North America and Mexico, the Horned Larks 

 are also found throughout most of Europe and Asia, as well as northern Africa, 

 the twenty or more American forms all being regarded as geographic races of 

 a single species (O. alpesiris}, at least two forms of which are present in the 

 Old World as well. With the possible exception of the Song Sparrows (Melo- 

 spiza) there are no other North American birds having such a plastic constitution 

 as these, and as a result some of the forms appear to intergrade with several 

 sometimes as many as five others, and curiously enough it is not always con- 

 tiguous races that are most closely related. This condition is perhaps largely 

 accounted for by the fact that, being largely graminivorous, they are mainly 

 stationary, only the more northern forms migrating and these somewhat 

 erratically. Their adaptability to climatic and physiographic conditions is very 

 great, since they "are found from the shores of the Arctic Ocean to the heart 

 of the tropics; from the level of the sea to the summits of lofty mountains; and 

 from regions of excessive rainfall to the most arid deserts. They are preeminently 

 birds of the open country, rarely if ever venturing into the depths of the forests, 

 for the grassy savannas, cultivated fields, country roadsides, the bare or bushy 

 deserts, and the stony slopes of mountains are habitats much more to their 

 taste." OBERHOLSER. 



These pretty little birds are usually seen in small, scattered parties, though 

 in winter they may congregate in larger flocks, often in company with other 

 species, such as Snowflakes, Longspurs, etc. They run along the ground in 

 front of a pedestrian, but if pressed too closely, rise with a sharp whistled note 

 and after circling around alight usually at no great distance and resume their 

 feeding. During the breeding season they have a very pretty though short song, 



