58 SHORE-LARK. 
that passes from the nostril to the eye, below which it falls, rounding, 
to the depth of three quarters of an inch; the yellqw on the forehead 
and over the eye, is bounded within, for its whole length, with black, 
which covers part of the crown ; the breast is ornamented with a broad, 
fan-shaped patch of black; this, as well as all the other spots of black, 
are marked with minute curves of yellow points; back of the neck, 
and towards the shoulders, a light drab, tinged with lake; lesser wing- 
coverts, bright. cinnamon ; greater wing-coverts, the same, interiorly 
dusky, and tipped with whitish; back and wings, drab colored, tinged 
with reddish, each feather of the former having a streak of dusky black 
down its centre; primaries, deep dusky, tipped and edged with whitish ; 
exterior feathers, most so; secondaries, broadly edged with light drab, 
and scolloped at the tips; tail, forked, black; the two middle feathers, 
which by some have been mistaken for the coverts, are reddish drab, 
centred with brownish black; the two outer ones on each side, exte- 
riorly edged with white; breast, of a dusky vinous‘tinge, and marked 
with spots or streaks of the same; the belly and vent, white; sides, 
streaked with bay; bill short, (Latham, in mistake, says seven 
inches,*) of a dusky blue color; tongue, truncate and bifid; legs 
and claws, black; hind heel, very long, and almost straight; iris of 
the eye, hazel. One glance at Fig. 18 will give a better idea than 
the whole of this minute description, which, however, has_ been 
rendered necessary by the errors of others. The female has little or 
no black-on the crown; and the yellow on the front is narrow, and of 
a dirty tinge. : : 
. ‘There isa singular appearance in this bird, which I have never seen 
taken notice of by former writers, viz., certain long, black feathers, 
which extend, by equal distances, beyond each other, above ‘the eye- 
brow; these are longer, more pointed, and of a different texture from 
the rest around them; and the bird possesses the power of erecting 
them, so as to appear as if horned, like some of the Owl tribe. Having 
kept one of these birds alive for some time, I was much amused at 
this odd appearance, and think it might furnish a very suitable spe- 
cific appellation, viz. Alauda cornuta, or Horned Lark. These horns 
become scarcely perceivable after the bird is dead. The head is 
slightly crested. ~ ‘ 4 ; 
Shore-Lark and Sky-Lark are names by which this species is usually 
‘known in different parts of the Union. ‘They are said to sing well, 
mounting in the air, in the manner of the Song-Lark of Europe; but 
this is only in those countries where they breed. I have never 
aon of their nests being found within the territory of the United 
tates. 
* Synopsis, vol. ii. p. 385. 
