and dry grasslands that encircle tho farming areas. During Hay and ^uno the 

 young of resident homed- larks, may be noted aoout the ■ f iolds . ' Beginning 

 usually late in June or early in July,, v.'hen the early broods of youngsters 

 are just able to travel extensively, ^ there -is a movement from the open country 

 into the ecneral farming district, and the population of homed larks in the 

 latter areas may shov' a sudden and great increase, further increases in num- 

 bers may be noted throughout tho remainder of the S',immer and 0£s.rly fall, as 

 additional bands flock in from their open-country range. 



"The food of the horned lark consists largely of seeds picked up from the 

 ground," This statement by 3eal is virtually as 'true today as itwas vmen 

 Boal T.'rote it in I9IO.I/ 'Analysis of the food item""s contained in 259 horned 

 lark stom.achs collected in California shov/cd the annual, food of the- birds to 

 consist of about 9I percent vegetable, and 9 percent animal, matter, iimong 

 the vegetable foods Beal listed cultivated crops of corn, v/heat and oats. 

 Seeds of ivecds and v/ild grasses averaged 5I percent of the total food. Insects 

 vrerc taken largely from March to June, and many of them, v'ero fed the you.ng. 



Study of a sm.all series of stomachs collected at a later date reveals 

 little change except that the birds' liking for succulent vegetable crops, 

 practically_ unknovn. in Seal's tim.e, has accentuated their vegetarian pro- 

 foronce_s._^ In miuch of _ the State the item most frequently found in the. stomachs 

 of homed larks is the seed of redmiaid.s (Calandrinia caulescens nonziesii), 

 Vv'hich groviTs in profijsion over a wide area. Other seeds coirim.only found are 

 those_of smiartv/ced (Polj'gcnum) , alfilaria (Erodiuj".) ,_ rj'-e^ grass (Lolium) , 

 spurrey (iSpergula), campion ( Silene) , and ta rv;e e d ( Hemi z oni a ) , 'hen available 

 T/heat, barley, oats and m.ilo mai ze may be taken from newly seeded grainfields, 

 or from stubble. Insect food during- the period of crop dojnage is unimportant. 



C50PS DAI^G^D 



Horned larks are given groat opportunity for damage hy the vddespread 

 abundance of cultiv .ted products attractive to them. In the irrigated valleys 

 almost all kinds of green, table vegetables are raisc-d, large acreages of vege- 

 tables send sugar beets arc gro\^m for seed, ard beans cultivated for the dried 

 product. . In these valleys also are great flovrer-seod producing areas. On the 

 lov.'er hills and unirrigatod rollir^g lands additional, thousands of acres of 

 similar crops adapted to dry-farming are grov.-n.-, P.roducti.or continues som.e- 

 T;here in the State throughout the year. ■ ■ 



Among the vegetable, crops severly d-amaged by horned' lB.rks are. le-ttu.ce , 

 carrots, beets, spinach^ tu-mips, and peas, Plantlets of field and .truck 

 crops destroyed include those of black-eyed peas, beans of nearly every type, 

 sugar beets, cantaloupes, v.-atermolons, and tomatoes. Floxver plantlets of 

 many varieties, in. cor.omercial seed plantings, are frequently devoured. 



1/ Birds of California in Relation to the Fruit Industry, pt.rt 2, by 

 F. ^.~L. Beal. Biological Survey Bulletin No. jU, 96pp., illus., I9IO. 



