NATO RE OF m^fikGE ' 



Dam^icG by homed. Larks usvalljr "begins i s the first plants break throiigh 

 the, surface of the soil, and it raay cbntinuo until tho plrjits reach a height 

 of several inches. Tlao hon'jd lark nips off parts of th'; tender plantlets, 

 or in tho case of srriall, i.-oak- rooted seedlings such as lettuce, it riiay pull 

 up th'j entire plant. In any event, if nipped off belov.. the crovn, the plant- 

 let dies. In more -robust kiads, such as beans, the first cotyledons may bo 

 nipp jd off, the plant being thus destroyed. If the seedling is not destroyed 

 in r\ny early stage, secondary leaflets and adventitious buds are speedily 

 consumed as .they appear.- Thoy are often pruned back so persistently that ■ 

 the plants are poriM?..ner-tly d"',,-ariod and as a result produce no fruit or seed-. 



Altriough the nost sevi'-rc attacks e.re usually upon tender plantlets, in 

 certain years extensive depredations have occurred upon bean and pea blossoms 

 late in the summer.. This Tiay be so serious as virtually to v,i.pe out the crop 

 in an entire district. In a fev/ instances horned larks have betsn observed •■ 

 picking the outer leaves of head lettuce to such depth tr^at excessive v.-aste 

 was occasioned in .discarding tho perforated lea-.js. In one case it v.TiS noted 

 that as turnip Stvedlings appeared through the ground, the .birds literally dug 

 up the drill-track to feed upon the geminating seods. 



Laboratory analysis of the stomach cont-jnts of horned larks engaged in 

 these attacks usually fails to give an accurate idea of th"; do.mage done. A 

 certain quantity of the freen vegetable tissue v;ill be found in the stomachs 

 of the birds; yet in many inst^.nces it is nc-ted that by far the major part 

 of the plant tissue torn from th-v plantlets is dropp-d on tho ground; fLirther- 

 moro,. many plantlets m.ay be pulled up r>r broken off and left 7/ithout any 

 evidence of the removal of any of the leaves. ^ robably depredations upon 

 green crop plants result frohi a searcn for ^Aoisture. 



On dry-farmed areas, v.^ere plant "rrovrth is slov.-, the damage may extend 

 over a long period and thus cause excossivo loss. In irrigated fields, v/here 

 the plants grov.- rapidly, the attack is usually of relativ=:^ly. short -duration. 

 On the other hand, irrigati.j-n ef fi-.jlds in an other'/'/'iso arid area devoid of 

 green vegetation may cause an abneniial conce:^' tr' .tion of birds, resulting in 

 so\'"ero losses. . ■ , ■ : : ': 



The first evidence- of damage by hom'id 'larks is u.sually the d-'jnu'ding of 

 plants from, a small area n ar thj center of a field, distant from cover or 

 fences, /.s th-v attacJ: continu.. s the O'W^ spot may spread v.dth startling 

 rapidity, until in severe depredations only a- narrov fringe ef undejnagod' plants 

 may remain about the borders of the field.' 



SEASOF OF DiiKAGE - 



In general, attacks by homed larks upon crops are closely correlated 

 vri. th the dry season. Most of the depredatioi-s cccur after the natural vege- 

 tation of the surrounding range er grassland has dried up,, and they may 

 continue until the first fall rains come. Because of the great variation in 

 conditions vdthin the State, one can say only that the greater part of the : 



damage occurs between mid-June and hovember. 



