The Horned Lark 323 



"Leave to the Nightingale her shady wood; 



A privacy of glorious light is thine. 

 Whence thou dost pour upon the world a flood 



Of harmony, with instinct more divine; 

 Type of the wise, who soar, but never roam — • 

 True to the kindred points of Heaven and Home." 



The true Larks, of which the Horned Lark is one example, have a long, 

 straight claw (the 'Lark-spur') on the hind toe, and a slightly crested head; but 

 the Horned Larks have, in addition, over each eye, extending to the back of 

 the head, a narrow, black, pointed crest, that ordinarily lies close to the head; 

 but, when the male is excited by passion or surprise, these crests are erected, 

 so that the head resembles slightly that of an Owl, with two little black ears 

 sticking up. 



The range of the Horned Lark and its several varieties 



Its Range extends throughout most of North America, Northern South 



America, Europe and Asia. Mr. Harry C. Oberholser, in a 



monograph of the species, gives twenty-three forms, — sixteen North American, 



hve Mexican, one from Colombia and one from Eurasia. 



Some form of the Horned Lark occurs at some season of the year in every 

 part of the North American continent, excepting the Aleutian Islands, the 

 southern coast region of Alaska, the extreme southeastern part of the United 

 States, and Central America; but the Horned Lark is, normally, a bird of 

 treeless lands. 



In the time of Wilson and Audubon, only one form of the species was known 

 in the East ; this is the typical Horned Lark or Shore Lark, a bird of the coast 

 regions. But, since then, a second form, the Prairie Horned Lark, has been 

 recognized there, which gradually has expanded its range to the eastward. 

 As the eastern country was cleared and settled, more open ground became 

 available there for this sub-species; and, as the western country was settled, 

 trees were grown, much land was put under constant cultivation, thousands 

 of Larks' nests were destroyed, as the farmers turned the prairie sod, and there 

 was less room for the Horned Lark there. Possibly for these reasons, it has 

 extended its range east, — first through Ohio, then into New York and then to 

 the New England states, until it has reached the Atlantic coast. The Prairie 

 Horned Lark is now not rare in the summer in some suitable places in New 

 England, and breeds there. 



It is a rather pale variety, with some white about the head, in place of 

 the yellow of the typical eastern bird. It is the Horned Lark commonly seen 

 during the breeding season in the north-central and eastern United States. 

 Almost everywhere in the treeless lands of North America, Horned Larks are 

 found. In the East, they breed south to West Virginia, and in the West to 

 Kansas, New Mexico and California. 



The beginner in bird study may not recognize the Horned Larks by their 



