OF ARTS AND SCIENCES. 123 



Owing to the frequent confusion of this species with the Prairie 

 Horned lyark, it is impossible now to say what proportion of the 

 inland records for alpestris are really referable to that form. 

 Probably, however, many or most of the single and paired birds 

 taken inland during the spring are of the subspecies praticola, 

 true alpestris being more strictly confined to the coast. Mr. A. 

 A. Eaton writes me that alpestris is common during winter on 

 the beach at Seabrook, and I have also seen it there in small 

 flocks flying northward on March 26, 1900. 

 Dates : November to March 26. 



150. Otocoris alpestris praticola Hensh. Prairie 

 Horned I^ark. 



An uncommon spring and fall migrant and local summer res- 

 ident. This bird was first recorded as summering in the state 

 by Dr. Walter Faxon ('92) who says that on the 4th of June, 

 1 89 1, his brother observed two birds haunting an old field in 

 the town of Franconia and that their number was afterwards 

 augmented by '* what were doubtless the second-brood young." 

 These birds were seen in the same spot as late as July 21st. 

 Mr. Bradford Torrey (:oi) gives an account of the habits of 

 these birds as observed by him at Franconia during May, 1901, 

 when at one spot no less than five birds were found, and a half 

 mile up the valley were two more pairs. Two years previous, 

 no horned larks had been observed here by Mr. Torrey, who 

 admits, however, that he may have overlooked them. At Lan- 

 caster, Mr. F\ B. Spaulding writes me that he is confident it 

 breeds, as he has seen pairs there in midsummer, and ' ' once in 

 June saw a young bird just able to fly following its parent and 

 begging for food." He also states that it arrives even in Feb- 

 ruary in pairs and small flocks. Mr. H. W. "Wright informs 

 me that on Aug. 7, 1899, he observed two perched on a fence 

 bordering meadows by the Connecticut River in lyancaster. 

 Furthermore, Miss Mary V. Blandy tells me that a small flock 

 was observed dX Jefferson (not far to the east of I^ancaster) about 

 a piece of ploughed land during the summer of 1900, and that 

 one of the birds was killed and identified as of this race. More 

 recently, Mr. Ralph Hoffmann kindly permits me to record that 



