NORTH AM-EIilCAN BIRDS. 



315 



The far-famed Skylark of the Old World holds a place in the avifauna of North 

 America from its occasional occurrence in the Bermudas, and, in Greenland. Several 

 attempts have heen made to Introduce these desirable birds in Ba'stern United States, 

 but so far the experiments have proved unsuccessful. The Skylark is an inhabitant 

 of all the countries of Europe, and is said to be more plentiful in cultivated districts. 

 The mating season is in April, and two broods are reared in a season. The nest is 

 always placed on the ground, in meadows or open grassy places; it is often sheltered 

 by a tuft of grass, clod of earth, or other projection. The materials used in its com- 

 position are grasses, plant stems, and a few chance leaves; the lining is of the same, 

 but finer. The eggs are three, four or five in number, and vary considerably in form 

 and coloration; some are grayish- white with a tinge of purple or greenish-white, 

 thickly sprinkled and mottled with a grayish-brown or drab; others are of a deep 

 sombre hue, and in some the markings are chiefly concentrated at the larger end. 

 These are the variations exhibited in four sets of four eggs each in my cabinet, taken 

 in Stailordshire, England, in the latter part of April and the first of May. The 

 smallest set offers the following sizes: .86x.57, .87x.60, .84x.58, .89x.60; the largest, 

 .93X.64. .95X.64, .92X.62, .94x.64, respectively. 



474. Horned Lark (From Brehm). 



474. HORNED LAKK. Otocoris alpestris (Linn.) Geog. Dist. — Northeastern 

 North America' — Labrador, region about Hudson Bay, Greenland, and northern parts 

 of the Old World; in winter south in Eastern United States to the Carolinas, 

 Illinois, etc. 



