THE LARK IN AUTUMN AND IN WINTER 
Under migration something has been said of the movements 
of the Prairie Horned Lark in late fall, in winter and early 
Spring, in various portions of its range. There remains yet a 
short discussion of what may be known of its other activities at 
this season: its flocking, its food, its associates, and, especially, 
its habitats. 
Flocking.— Young of early broods begin to gather in small 
groups in late spring and early summer long before the adults 
have ceased breeding activities. Thus small bands of juveniles 
were seen at Evanston, June 19, 1925. In 1926 at Evanston 
the first flocking of adults was noted on July 31. At Murdock, 
Nebraska, August 24, 1926, a large flock was discovered scattered 
out over a large tract of recently plowed ground. In September, 
at Murdock, Larks were frequently heard in the air and one 
essayed a flight song September 6. In October and November, 
1925, at Evanston the only Larks seen were casual groups of 
twos and threes on or above the breeding grounds west of the 
city. They were noted thus October 25, 31, November 8, 21 and 
27. At Ithaca, New York, during the fall of 1926, Larks were 
heard frequently flying over the Campus of Cornell University 
and Dr. A. A. Allen and Mr. M. D. Pirnie reported a typical 
flight song on November 6. The appearance of this bird in the 
Carolinas, Kentucky, Oklahoma and Texas during December 
and January has been discussed under migration and its reap- 
pearance in the latitude of northern Illinois (Evanston) and 
south central New York (Ithaca) has also been considered. 
Habitats——The conditions preferred by young or by adults 
in fall or winter do not differ materially from those in which 
the species breeds. These conditions are those of the open field 
and areas in which a minimum of vegetation prevails. The 
close-cropped pastures, the great fields of fall plowing in the 
Missouri Valley, closely mowed cemeteries (Evanston, July 31, 
1926) are examples of conditions in which Prairie Horned Larks 
have been found at these seasons. Though the surveys of Forbes 
and Gross (1922) were made in early and late summer they do 
not differentiate between breeding and non-breeding birds so 
these records will be considered here. They show the Prairie 
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