﻿26 
  HORNED 
  LARKS 
  IN 
  RELATION 
  TO 
  AGRICULTURE. 
  

  

  intelligent 
  and 
  observing 
  farmer 
  in 
  my 
  neighborhood 
  upon 
  whose 
  accuracy 
  entire 
  

   dependence 
  can 
  be 
  placed. 
  t 
  

  

  While 
  going 
  through 
  with 
  the 
  first 
  hoeing 
  of 
  his 
  corn, 
  he 
  observed 
  running 
  about 
  

   among 
  the 
  hills 
  little 
  grayish 
  birds, 
  which, 
  from 
  his 
  description 
  and 
  from 
  the 
  

   absence 
  of 
  any 
  similar 
  bird 
  with 
  which 
  it 
  could 
  be 
  easily 
  confounded, 
  I 
  have 
  no 
  

   doubt 
  was 
  the 
  present 
  species. 
  Upon 
  observing 
  one 
  of 
  them 
  more 
  attentively, 
  he 
  

   became 
  interested 
  in 
  watching 
  its 
  operations. 
  Running 
  along 
  near 
  the 
  hills, 
  it 
  

   stopped 
  abruptly 
  from 
  time 
  to 
  time 
  opposite 
  a 
  hill 
  and 
  stood 
  still 
  as 
  if 
  listening; 
  

   then, 
  having 
  apparently 
  determined 
  its 
  direction, 
  it 
  inserted 
  its 
  bill 
  at 
  a 
  short 
  dis- 
  

   tance 
  from 
  a 
  spear 
  of 
  corn, 
  and 
  by 
  a 
  rapid 
  rotary 
  motion 
  partially 
  buried 
  itself 
  in 
  

   the 
  loose 
  earth, 
  and 
  then 
  jerking 
  backward 
  dragged 
  out 
  a 
  large 
  grub, 
  which 
  from 
  

   its 
  situation 
  may 
  be 
  reasonably 
  supposed 
  to 
  be 
  one 
  of 
  those 
  larvae, 
  of 
  which 
  there 
  

   are 
  several 
  different 
  kinds, 
  known 
  by 
  the 
  name 
  of 
  cutworms. 
  Taking 
  this 
  worm 
  in 
  

   its 
  bill, 
  it 
  ran 
  along 
  until 
  by 
  its 
  acute 
  sense 
  of 
  hearing 
  or 
  by 
  some 
  other 
  instinct 
  it 
  

   became 
  aware 
  of 
  the 
  presence 
  of 
  another 
  of 
  its 
  insect 
  prey. 
  Then 
  laying 
  down 
  the 
  

   one 
  previously 
  obtained 
  it 
  quickly 
  dislodged 
  another 
  in 
  the 
  same 
  manner, 
  and 
  seiz- 
  

   ing 
  them 
  both 
  in 
  its 
  bill 
  again 
  pursued 
  the 
  search. 
  Having 
  obtained 
  as 
  many 
  as 
  it 
  

   could 
  carry, 
  it 
  flew 
  off 
  to 
  the 
  neighboring 
  grass 
  field, 
  having 
  in 
  all 
  probability 
  a 
  

   brood 
  of 
  young 
  awaiting 
  its 
  arrival. 
  Not 
  infrequently 
  one 
  of 
  these 
  small 
  birds 
  

   would 
  carry 
  off 
  four 
  or 
  five 
  grubs 
  at 
  once, 
  often 
  having 
  to 
  lay 
  them 
  down 
  and 
  take 
  

   them 
  up 
  several 
  times 
  before 
  it 
  could 
  get 
  secure 
  hold 
  of 
  them 
  all. 
  

  

  When 
  we 
  consider 
  how 
  common 
  these 
  birds 
  are, 
  it 
  is 
  easy 
  to 
  conceive 
  that 
  they 
  

   must 
  destroy 
  an 
  immense 
  number 
  of 
  larvae 
  in 
  the 
  course 
  of 
  the 
  season. 
  

  

  While 
  writing 
  this 
  article 
  I 
  have 
  obtained 
  several 
  specimens 
  of 
  this 
  kind 
  of 
  bird, 
  

   both 
  male 
  and 
  female, 
  for 
  the 
  purpose 
  of 
  identifying 
  the 
  species 
  with 
  certainty. 
  

   Upon 
  examining 
  the 
  contents 
  of 
  the 
  stomach, 
  I 
  found 
  in 
  most 
  of 
  them 
  several 
  grains 
  

   resembling 
  hulled 
  oats, 
  and 
  in 
  one 
  of 
  them 
  was 
  a 
  larva 
  nearly 
  1 
  inch 
  in 
  length, 
  of 
  a 
  

   pale-green 
  color, 
  with 
  a 
  brown 
  head 
  and 
  tapering 
  a 
  little 
  at 
  each 
  end, 
  being 
  differ- 
  

   ent 
  from 
  the 
  cutworm, 
  but 
  resembling 
  and 
  perhaps 
  identical 
  with 
  the 
  spindle 
  

   worm, 
  so 
  called, 
  which 
  burrows 
  into 
  the 
  stem 
  of 
  the 
  corn 
  plant. 
  It 
  would 
  be 
  a 
  

   curious 
  fact 
  if 
  it 
  should 
  prove 
  that 
  the 
  bird 
  possesses 
  the 
  instinct 
  to 
  detect 
  and 
  

   destroy 
  two 
  noxious 
  larvae 
  so 
  different 
  in 
  appearance 
  and. 
  habits 
  as 
  those 
  here 
  

   mentioned. 
  

  

  Thus 
  does 
  this 
  shy 
  and 
  unobtrusive 
  little 
  bird 
  perform 
  its 
  humble 
  but 
  useful 
  part 
  

   in 
  the 
  economy 
  of 
  nature, 
  and 
  while 
  seeking 
  a 
  subsistence 
  for 
  itself 
  and 
  young 
  

   unconciously 
  renders 
  an 
  important 
  service 
  to 
  the 
  husbandman. 
  

  

  Next 
  in 
  importance 
  to 
  the 
  beetles 
  as 
  an 
  element 
  of 
  the 
  horned 
  lark's 
  

   food 
  are 
  bugs. 
  Eggs, 
  young, 
  and 
  adults 
  are 
  eaten, 
  and 
  representa- 
  

   tives 
  of 
  12 
  families 
  of 
  these 
  insects 
  had 
  been 
  consumed 
  by 
  the 
  birds 
  

   examined. 
  Practical^ 
  all 
  the 
  bugs 
  eaten 
  are 
  injurious, 
  some 
  of 
  them 
  

   especially 
  so. 
  The 
  tarnished 
  plant 
  bug 
  (Lygus 
  jpratensis) 
  . 
  (fig. 
  9), 
  

   which 
  is 
  very 
  destructive 
  to 
  all 
  orchard 
  fruits 
  and 
  to 
  strawberries, 
  

   and 
  the 
  green 
  tree 
  bug 
  (JVezara 
  Pilaris), 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  offensive 
  stink- 
  

   bugs 
  sometimes 
  found 
  on 
  grapes, 
  are 
  devoured. 
  The 
  chinch 
  bug 
  

   (Blissus 
  leucopterus) 
  (tig. 
  10 
  ), 
  among 
  the 
  worst 
  of 
  all 
  insect 
  pests, 
  was 
  

   eaten 
  in 
  March, 
  May, 
  and 
  June. 
  The 
  losses 
  caused 
  by 
  this 
  insect 
  

   have 
  been 
  estimated 
  for 
  single 
  years 
  throughout 
  its 
  range 
  at 
  above 
  a 
  

   hundred 
  million 
  dollars. 
  One 
  stomach 
  of 
  a 
  horned 
  lark 
  collected 
  in 
  

   May 
  contained 
  34 
  entire 
  chinch 
  bugs 
  and 
  fragments 
  of 
  16 
  more, 
  or 
  a 
  

   total 
  of 
  50 
  eaten 
  in 
  a 
  morning. 
  

  

  