﻿8 
  HORNED 
  LARKS 
  IN 
  RELATION 
  TO 
  AGRICULTURE. 
  

  

  in 
  keeping 
  with 
  the 
  artless 
  character 
  of 
  the 
  bird, 
  being 
  little 
  cups 
  of 
  

   grass 
  placed 
  in 
  slight 
  depressions 
  in 
  the 
  ground. 
  Two 
  or 
  even 
  three 
  

   broods 
  are 
  raised 
  in 
  a 
  year, 
  a 
  fact 
  which 
  sufficiently- 
  explains 
  the 
  great 
  

   numbers 
  of 
  the 
  species 
  in 
  some 
  localities. 
  

  

  The 
  flight 
  of 
  the 
  horned 
  larks 
  is 
  hesitant. 
  They 
  usually 
  start 
  hur- 
  

   riedly 
  from 
  the 
  ground, 
  uttering 
  short, 
  whistled 
  notes, 
  and 
  it 
  is 
  very 
  

   characteristic 
  of 
  them 
  that 
  frequently 
  when 
  disturbed 
  they 
  fly 
  straight 
  

   away 
  for 
  a 
  short 
  distance, 
  onty 
  to 
  swing 
  around 
  and 
  alight 
  near 
  the 
  

   starting 
  point. 
  In 
  the 
  mating 
  season, 
  however, 
  they 
  ascend 
  to 
  great 
  

   heights 
  and, 
  like 
  the 
  skylark, 
  sing 
  while 
  on 
  the 
  wing. 
  The 
  song 
  is 
  

   neither 
  complex 
  nor 
  loud, 
  but 
  it 
  is 
  wild, 
  joyous, 
  and 
  full 
  of 
  the 
  free 
  

   spirit 
  of 
  the 
  prairie 
  and 
  the 
  open 
  fields. 
  

  

  The 
  birds 
  thus 
  characterized 
  occur 
  at 
  some 
  time 
  of 
  the 
  year 
  in 
  all 
  

   parts 
  of 
  North 
  America, 
  except 
  the 
  Aleutian 
  Islands, 
  the 
  southern 
  

   coastal 
  portion 
  of 
  Alaska, 
  extreme 
  southeastern 
  United 
  States, 
  and 
  

   Central 
  America. 
  This 
  vast 
  range 
  is 
  occupied 
  b} 
  7 
  only 
  one 
  species, 
  

   which, 
  however, 
  varies 
  so 
  greatly 
  in 
  different 
  localities 
  that 
  it 
  has 
  been 
  

   separated 
  into 
  no 
  fewer 
  than 
  twenty-one 
  varieties 
  or 
  subspecies. 
  a 
  

  

  During 
  the 
  breeding 
  season 
  these 
  geographic 
  forms 
  are 
  restricted 
  to 
  

   separate 
  areas, 
  but 
  in 
  winter, 
  on 
  account 
  of 
  the 
  tendenc} 
  T 
  of 
  the 
  southern 
  

   races 
  to 
  wander 
  and 
  of 
  the 
  northern 
  ones 
  to 
  migrate, 
  the 
  subspecies 
  

   mingle, 
  and 
  as 
  many 
  as 
  seven 
  (Arizona) 
  or 
  eight 
  (California) 
  forms 
  

   occur 
  in 
  one 
  State. 
  In 
  summer 
  in 
  the 
  United 
  States 
  (including 
  Alaska) 
  

   there 
  are 
  fifteen 
  subspecies 
  of 
  horned 
  larks, 
  and 
  in 
  winter 
  seventeen. 
  

  

  The 
  several 
  members 
  of 
  the 
  famil} 
  T 
  Almtdidx, 
  which 
  includes 
  these 
  

   forms, 
  are 
  interesting 
  birds. 
  Their 
  habit 
  of 
  walking, 
  instead 
  of 
  hop- 
  

   ping, 
  distinguishes 
  them 
  from 
  many 
  small 
  ground 
  birds. 
  They 
  have 
  

   long 
  hind 
  claws, 
  the 
  prints 
  of 
  which 
  in 
  the 
  snow 
  or 
  along 
  the 
  muddy 
  

   shores 
  of 
  ponds 
  often 
  indicate 
  where 
  the 
  larks 
  have 
  been 
  running. 
  

   They 
  molt 
  but 
  once 
  a 
  year, 
  usually 
  in 
  August, 
  while 
  many 
  birds 
  molt 
  

   twice 
  and 
  a 
  few 
  three 
  times. 
  The 
  nuptial 
  dress 
  is 
  acquired 
  not 
  by 
  

   molting, 
  but 
  by 
  the 
  wearing 
  away 
  of 
  the 
  tips 
  of 
  the 
  winter 
  feathers, 
  

   revealing 
  the 
  brighter 
  colors 
  beneath. 
  The 
  plumage 
  of 
  the 
  larks 
  is 
  

   generally 
  neutral 
  in 
  tint, 
  especially 
  when 
  viewed 
  from 
  above, 
  and 
  so 
  

   harmonizes 
  with 
  their 
  surroundings 
  that 
  it 
  has 
  a 
  protective 
  value, 
  and 
  

   enables 
  the 
  birds, 
  in 
  a 
  measure, 
  to 
  escape 
  the 
  notice 
  of 
  enemies. 
  

  

  GENERAL 
  FOOD 
  HABITS 
  AND 
  ECONOMIC 
  RELATIONS. 
  

  

  A 
  preliminary 
  report 
  upon 
  the 
  food 
  of 
  the 
  horned 
  larks, 
  03^ 
  Prof. 
  

   Walter 
  B. 
  Barrows, 
  formerly 
  of 
  the 
  Biological 
  Survey, 
  was 
  published 
  

   in 
  the 
  Report 
  of 
  the 
  Secretary 
  of 
  Agriculture 
  for 
  1892. 
  It 
  was 
  based 
  

  

  «For 
  descriptions 
  and 
  ranges 
  of 
  the 
  subspecific 
  forms 
  the 
  reader 
  is 
  referred 
  to 
  H. 
  C 
  

   Oberholser's 
  'Review 
  of 
  the 
  Larks 
  of 
  the 
  Genus 
  Otocoris;' 
  Proceedings 
  of 
  the 
  U. 
  S.. 
  

   Nat. 
  Museum, 
  Vol. 
  XXIV, 
  pp. 
  801-880, 
  1902. 
  

  

  