The Horned Lark 325 



of Labrador near the sea, on dark rocks covered with mosses and lichens^ 

 where its protective coloration, as it sat on the nest, was quite as effective as 

 it is among the pastures of New England, or on the western prairies. Mr. 

 J. L, Davison, of Lockport, New York, found a nest of the Prairie Horned 

 Lark built in the side of a manure heap in a field. 



As the young approach maturity, they outgrow the nest, and, when it 

 will contain them no longer, they leave it, usually several days or a week 

 before they are able to fly; after which they wander about over the ground,, 

 and the parents continue to feed them for two or three weeks. While the 

 young are still in the nest, the mother is very secretive about feeding them. 

 She never flies to the nest when she apprehends danger, but always alights- 

 at a distance, zigzags up to the nest, creeps to it, feeds the young very quickly, 

 and then steals away. The little ones, in their first plumage, are covered 

 with light spots. 



The Horned Larks are ground birds. Although sometimes 

 Its Habits one alights upon a stump-root, fence-post, or rail, they never,, 



so far as I am aware, have been seen in trees. In October, 

 or when the chill winds of November blow. Horned Larks from the north begin 

 to appear in the United States. They come down from Labrador and the fur 

 countries, and become common along the Atlantic seaboard. They are seen 

 usually in rather small, straggling flocks. The members of a flock keep company 

 like a hen and chickens, the old birds leading. Sometimes as many as one 

 hundred or more may consort together. 



In the East, they frequent freshly ploughed fields, marshes, meadows, 

 stubble fields, and weedy places along the coast, sometimes going to the higher 

 pastures. When snow comes, they search for food along the shore, on bare 

 spaces in roads, or near barns and haystacks. In winter, they are sometimes 

 seen in the interior, with flocks of Snowflakes. 



In autumn and winter, they are rather silent. When feeding, they keep 

 close to the ground, where they creep about, picking up seeds. They are 

 adepts at hiding, squatting low behind weeds or clumps of grass. The scat- 

 tered flocks fly with an undulating motion and, when startled, they often rise,, 

 fly off and then turn about and alight near the point from which they started. 



In the West, they live in desert valleys, on barren table-lands and level 

 prairies, and also among the highlands and upon bare mountain peaks. 

 Its Food and ^^- W. L. McAtee, in his Bulletin on 'The Horned Larks 



Economic and Their Relation to Agriculture,' states that 20.6 per cent 



^^^"® of their food is animal matter (all insects), and 79.4 vegetable. 



The quantity of grain taken is insignificant, except in California, where the 

 food habits seem to be largely vegetarian. 



The Horned Larks are interesting birds. They readily adapt themselves 

 to farm conditions, and are distinctly beneficial to agriculture. They should: 

 be protected by law at all times. 



