XXIV
THE LARK FAMILY
(Alaudidæ)[18]
There are a good many kinds of larks in the world, but only one comes to us, the Horned Lark, or shore lark. He differs a little in color in the various places he is found over our broad country, but not enough to call him another species.
In places where there is a great deal of rain, birds take on a slightly different shade from their brothers who live in dry places. So there are several varieties of the horned lark. But dress isn't everything, and, after all, he is the same bird in habits and manners wherever we find him in the United States. He is streaked brown on the back, and white below, with yellow throat and black and white markings.
The way you may always know a Prairie Horned Lark, of whom I will speak, is by the pretty little tufts of feathers that stand up on his head like horns, and the very long nail on his hind toe.
DESERT HORNED LARK