1SS4.J IIensiiaw ou I lie Nortli America)/ S/i(yr(' Larks. 26 I 



or rufous color is the cliaractcr that chiefly (listin<);uishes this form 

 from the foregoing. Its small size is also noticeable, it l)eing the 

 smallest of any of our forms. In a considerable number of speci- 

 mens from the interior of the state the back, with the exception 

 of some black streaks just above the rump, is entirel}- rufous. 

 Examples from about San Francisco, Santa Barbara, and vSan 

 Diego are of a lighter shade of rufous, but all appear to be dis- 

 tinguished from the preceding form. In casting about for a name 

 for the California race I expected to be able to apply the Alauda 

 rz^/a of Andubon. The supposed type of Audubon's plate and 

 description is now before me, and it agrees perfectly with the 

 California form ; no locality, however, is given on the label. 

 In the account of his rufa Audubon states its habitat" to be 

 the whole of the interior of the United States and Mexico. 

 Aside, however, from any doubt attaching to the locality of the 

 specimen, and of its being Audubon's type, the name is preoccu- 

 pied by the Alauda rufa of Gmelin of 178S, as applied to 

 Anthus ludovicianus \ hence there is no alternative but to pro- 

 jDOse a new name. 



-^. Strigata.— rThe remaining form within our territory is the 

 variety strigata^ which is, perhaps, the most strongly marked of 

 any of the forms mentioned. It is slightly larger than the Cali- 

 fornian bird, as would be expected from its more northern habi- 

 tat, which is the extreme Northwestern United States — the 

 neighborhood of Puget Sound, Washington Territory, and soutli- 

 wards into Oregon. As in this region the rainfall is greater than 

 in any other portion of the United States, it naturally follows that 

 from here would come the darkest colored Horned Larks. Such 

 is the case, and its deep coloration and the conspicuously striped 

 dorsum constitute the essential characters of this race. 



To those who have never attempted the identification of any 

 considerable number of Horned Larks, or who are familiar only 

 with specimens from a single restricted locality, it may appear 

 that the number of forms suggested by the above arrangement is 

 excessive, and that in handling the subject an unnecessar} degree 

 of refinement has been practiced. This, however, is believed to 

 be not the case. Certainly by predilection the writer is com- 

 mitted to the recognition of as few varieties as the most conserva- 

 tive could desire. Between predilection and practice, however, 

 there must, in such cases as the present, be a wide divergence. 



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