Desert Horned Lark 279 
Family ALAUDIDZ. 
Characters of the single genus. 
Genus OTOCORIS. 
Bill stout, somewhat conical ; nostrils circular, completely concealed 
by stiff feathers directed forwards; primaries nine, the tenth (outer) 
not obvious ; tail nearly square ; tarsus rounded in front and behind, 
and covered both anteriorly and posteriorly with scutes; claws of 
front toes slightly curved, that of hind toe straight and exceeding its 
digit in length ; head not crested, but with a little erectile, elongated 
feather-tuft on either side. 
This genus is spread over nearly all of North America and extends 
south to Colombia; also over Europe, Asia and northern Africa. 
The Horned Larks are remarkable for the great amount of variation 
which they have undergone throughout their range; these variations 
are not very marked, and as a rule are connected by intermediate forms. 
Mr. Oberholser, the most recent monographer of the genus, recognizes 
no less than thirty-six forms, of which only six, in his opinion, are 
worthy of specific separation. All the American forms are included 
in one species, Otocoris alpestris (Linn.). 
The Horned Larks of Colorado were by Henshaw (84) supposed 
to be referable to two subspecies—(a) a large pale form with a white 
throat (O. leucolema of Henshaw =O. arcticola of Obersholser), breeding 
in Alaska and wintering in the north-western United States; and (6) 
a smaller resident form (0. arenicola of Henshaw =O. leucolema of Coues 
and Oberholser) with a distinct yellow throat. A further examination 
of material however leads to the conclusion, that there is only one form 
commonly met with in Colorado, and this is a resident throughout the 
year. Oberholser is of opinion that a subspecies (0. alpestris enthymia), 
described by him as breeding from the British province of Saskatchewan 
to North Dakota, comes south in winter to northern Colorado. I have 
not examined examples of this form. 
Desert Horned Lark. Otocoris alpestris leucolema. 
A.O.U. Checklist no 474¢c—Colorado Records—Baird 1858, p. 403 
(Eremophila cornuta); Allen 72, pp. 149, 156 (Hremophila alpestris) ; 
Aiken 72, p. 202; Trippe 74, p. 231 (H. a. chrysolema) ; Henshaw 75, 
p. 309; Scott 79, p. 92; Drew 81, p. 78; 85 p. 16; Tresz 81, p. 39; 
Allen & Brewster 83, p. 193: Henshaw 84, p. 254 (0. a. arenicola) ; 
W. G. Smith 84, p. 95; Beckham 85, p. 142; Morrison 89, p. 147; 
Dwight 90, p. 146; Kellogg 90, p. 88; Miller 94, p. 32 ; Lowe 95, p. 170; 
Cooke 97, pp. 89, 163, 209; Oberholser 02, p. 820; Keyser 02, pp. 84, 
