LARKS 265 
he could hover, then with a fine ecstasy come floating hack to the 
field like a ball of down. 
His usual twitter was like that of the wood pewee, a conversa¬ 
tional aside. His call-notes were persistent and quite loud. For so 
small a flycatcher he took a surprisingly distinct part in the noisy 
jackdaw and scissor-tail chorus. 
GENUS ORNITHION. 
General Characters. — Bill curved, compressed, almost without bristles ; 
tarsus longer than middle toe and claw. 
KEY TO SPECIES. 
1. Smaller and browner. imberbe, p. 265. 
1'. Larger and grayer. ridgwayi, p. 265. 
472. Ornithion imberbe ( Scl. ). Beardless Flycatcher. 
Adults. — Upper parts plain brownish gray; wings with light edgings; 
under parts grayish white, tinged with yellow. Young: under parts huffy. 
Length : 4.50, wing 2.10-2.15, tail 1.70-1.95, bill .39-.40. 
Distribution. — From lower Rio Grande Valley in Texas to Central 
America. 
472a. O. i. ridgwayi Brewst. Ridgway Flycatcher. 
Like imberbe , but larger, grayer, and with under parts almost or wholly 
without yellow. Length: 4.30-4.80, wing 2.04-2.28, tail 1.78-2.02, bill 
.40-.42. 
Distribution. — From southern Arizona south through western Mexico to 
Mazatlan. 
“Mr. Stephens found the curious little bird at Tucson. . . . The 
males had a habit of perching on the tops of the tallest trees in the 
vicinity of their haunts, and at sunrise occasionally uttered a singu¬ 
lar song which Mr. Stephens transcribes as ‘ yoop-yoop-yoop eedeedledeb,' 
the first half given very deliberately, the remainder rapidly.” (Ben- 
dire.) 
FAMILY ALAUDIDiE: LARKS. 
KEY TO GENERA. 
1. Crown with blunt erectile crest. Alauda, p. 265. 
1'. Crown with horn-like tufts of black feathers . . Otocoris, p. 266. 
GENUS ALAUDA. 
[473.] Alauda arvensis Linn. Skylark. 
Wing with spurious primary; tail deeply emarginate; tarsus equal to 
middle toe and claw. Adults : Upper parts light brownish, streaked with 
black ; wings dusky, feathers bordered with brown ; tail with outer feath¬ 
ers white, dusky along edge of inner web; under parts and superciliary 
whitish; chest pale tawny, streaked; ear coverts brownish, sometimes 
blackish along upper margin. Adults in winter: plumage more tawny 
and feathers of crown and back with more or less whitish margins. Young: 
tawny, with white margins to feathers of upper parts conspicuous, marked 
with a subterminal spot of brown; tertials widely bordered with huffy, 
