LAND BIRDS OF THE DUNES 



bird with its black patches below the eyes and 

 on the breast, and its yellow throat and eye 

 lines. At times, especially in the spring, the 

 long black feathers extending from the fore- 

 head above the eyes appear to stand out as 

 horns. It is a swift walker and picks at the 

 seeds of weeds and grasses from the ground, 

 never alighting on them as do longspurs, Ips- 

 wich sparrows and snow buntings, its three 

 other companions of the winter. It sometimes 

 flies up from the ground, seizing the seeds on 

 the tall grass or weed-stalks, at the same tune 

 shaking many off on to the ground, which it 

 picks up before repeating the process. 



It is a persistent fighter or extremely play- 

 ful, and is constantly engaged in chasing its 

 fellows. I have seen two face each other for 

 a moment, with heads down like fighting 

 cocks, the next instant twisting and turning 

 in the air, one in hot pursuit of the other. 



In a rough turf field horned larks are par- 

 ticularly difficult to see, as they are apt to 

 squat in depressions behind stones or sods, 

 and their colors harmonize well with the 

 ground. It is probable that they spend the 

 night in these situations, for in crossing a 

 field, one dark November night, my dog 



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