HORNED LARK
474. Otocoris alpestris. 7¾ inches
This variety, which is larger than its sub-species, is only found in the U. S. in winter, but several of the sub-species are residents in our limits. During the mating season they have a sweet song that is uttered on the wing, like that of the [Bobolink].
Note.—Alarm note and call a whistled “tseet,” “tseet”; song a low, sweet, and continued warble.
Nest.—A hollow in the ground lined with grass; placed in fields and usually partially concealed by an overhanging sod or stone. The three to five eggs have a grayish ground color and are profusely specked and blotched with gray and brownish. (.85 × .60).
Range.—Breeds in Labrador and about Hudson Bay; south in winter to South Carolina and Illinois.
Sub-Species.—474b. Prairie Horned Lark (praticola). A paler form usually with the line over the eye white, found in the Mississippi Valley. 474c. Desert Horned Lark (leucolæma). Paler and less distinctly streaked above than the Prairie; found west of the Mississippi and north to Alberta.
