﻿14 
  HORNED 
  LARKS 
  IN 
  RELATION 
  TO 
  AGRICULTURE. 
  

  

  Mr. 
  E. 
  W. 
  Nelson, 
  of 
  the 
  Biological 
  Survey, 
  in 
  writing 
  about 
  the 
  

   California 
  horned 
  lark 
  in 
  1893, 
  stated: 
  

  

  This 
  species 
  is 
  excessively 
  abundant 
  in 
  the 
  San 
  Joaquin 
  Valley 
  of 
  California, 
  east 
  

   of 
  Tulare 
  Lake. 
  In 
  autumn 
  they 
  gather 
  in 
  enormous 
  flocks, 
  containing 
  hundreds 
  of 
  

   birds, 
  and 
  continue 
  together 
  until 
  spring. 
  When 
  the 
  farmers 
  sow 
  their 
  whiter 
  

   wheat 
  on 
  these 
  plains 
  the 
  shore 
  larks 
  swarm 
  over 
  the 
  fields 
  in 
  countless 
  numbers, 
  

   scratching 
  up 
  and 
  greedily 
  devouring 
  the 
  grain. 
  They 
  do 
  this 
  so 
  persistently 
  that 
  

   fields 
  are 
  sometimes 
  replanted 
  on 
  account 
  of 
  their 
  depredations, 
  and 
  all 
  fields 
  are 
  

   considerably 
  damaged 
  by 
  them. 
  

  

  Such 
  direct 
  evidence 
  as 
  the 
  above, 
  from 
  observations 
  in 
  the 
  Held, 
  

   establishes 
  beyond 
  doubt 
  that 
  in 
  wheat 
  fields, 
  newly 
  sown 
  broadcast, 
  

   the 
  horned 
  lark 
  is 
  a 
  pest, 
  and 
  this 
  conclusion 
  is 
  corroborated 
  by 
  the 
  

   results 
  of 
  stomach 
  examinations. 
  

  

  Before 
  discussing 
  these 
  it 
  will 
  be 
  well 
  to 
  outline 
  the 
  conditions 
  of 
  

   grain 
  raising 
  in 
  California. 
  The 
  Sacramento 
  and 
  the 
  San 
  Joaquin 
  

   river 
  valleys 
  and 
  the 
  coastal 
  region 
  from 
  San 
  Francisco 
  south 
  are 
  

   the 
  important 
  wheat-growing 
  areas, 
  and 
  it 
  is 
  precisely 
  in 
  these 
  places 
  

   that 
  the 
  horned 
  larks 
  are 
  most 
  numerous 
  during 
  the 
  second 
  sowing 
  

   time. 
  This 
  occurs 
  in 
  January 
  and 
  February, 
  the 
  first 
  being 
  late 
  in 
  

   summer 
  (August 
  and 
  September) 
  before 
  the 
  first 
  fall 
  rain, 
  or 
  imme- 
  

   diately 
  after 
  it 
  if 
  the 
  soil 
  can 
  not 
  be 
  worked 
  before. 
  Thus 
  there 
  are 
  

   two 
  periods 
  in 
  the 
  year 
  during 
  which 
  wheat 
  is 
  exposed 
  to 
  attacks 
  of 
  

   the 
  larks. 
  

  

  Since 
  horned 
  larks 
  are 
  present 
  only 
  in 
  small 
  numbers 
  during 
  the 
  first 
  

   sowing 
  season, 
  the 
  possibilities 
  of 
  injury 
  from 
  them 
  are 
  not 
  great; 
  

   moreover, 
  that 
  the 
  birds 
  present 
  eat 
  little 
  wheat 
  appears 
  from 
  the 
  fact 
  

   that 
  none 
  of 
  it 
  was 
  found 
  in 
  the 
  stomachs 
  of 
  an} 
  T 
  of 
  the 
  horned 
  larks 
  from 
  

   California, 
  in 
  number 
  over 
  150, 
  which 
  were 
  collected 
  from 
  August 
  to 
  

   the 
  end 
  of 
  the 
  year. 
  

  

  During 
  the 
  winter 
  sowing, 
  however, 
  the 
  horned 
  larks 
  are 
  abundant, 
  

   and 
  then 
  it 
  is 
  that 
  complaints 
  are 
  made 
  of 
  their 
  wheat-eating 
  habits, 
  

   complaints 
  which 
  our 
  investigations 
  show 
  are 
  not 
  unfounded. 
  Wheat 
  

   constituted 
  11. 
  1 
  percent 
  of 
  the 
  food 
  of 
  21 
  birds 
  collected 
  in 
  January 
  

   and 
  71 
  percent 
  of 
  that 
  of 
  5 
  birds 
  taken 
  in 
  Februaiy. 
  However, 
  all 
  of 
  

   the 
  wheat 
  taken 
  in 
  January 
  was 
  in 
  the 
  stomachs 
  of 
  3 
  specimens 
  from 
  

   Escondido, 
  San 
  Diego 
  County, 
  and 
  it 
  made 
  99 
  percent 
  of 
  their 
  con- 
  

   tents. 
  The 
  high 
  percentage 
  of 
  wheat 
  in 
  the 
  food 
  in 
  February 
  is 
  partty 
  

   due 
  to 
  the 
  small 
  number 
  of 
  specimens 
  examined, 
  namely, 
  5. 
  Three 
  

   of 
  these, 
  however, 
  were 
  shot 
  from 
  a 
  flock 
  of 
  birds 
  which 
  were 
  ' 
  sup- 
  

   posed 
  to 
  be 
  pulling 
  wheat,' 
  and 
  thus 
  were 
  caught 
  in 
  the 
  very 
  act. 
  These, 
  

   also, 
  were 
  taken 
  at 
  Escondido, 
  and 
  contained 
  an 
  average 
  of 
  93.3 
  per- 
  

   cent 
  of 
  wheat. 
  

  

  These 
  facts 
  justify 
  the 
  conclusion 
  that 
  horned 
  larks 
  eat 
  wheat 
  

   whenever 
  they 
  can 
  find 
  it. 
  It 
  forms 
  only 
  9.1 
  percent 
  of 
  the 
  year's 
  

   food 
  of 
  the 
  California 
  horned 
  larks, 
  but 
  as 
  most 
  of 
  this 
  is 
  seed 
  grain 
  

  

  