Page:Bird-lore Vol 04.djvu/43

 22 Bird - Lore

Pennsylvania, central and northern New York, and Ontario, to western Massachusetts, Vermont and New Hampshire. and appears to he yearly extending its range eastward, In winter it ranges southward to South Carolina and Texas.

Sultan—The Horned Lark is found in the middle-eastern states as a winter Visitant between October and May. The Prairie Horned Lark is resident throughout the larger part of its breeding range, but wanders southward between October and Aprilr

Calvin—Larks are almost invariably colored dull brownish, gray, or sandy above and. vith few exceptions, are whitish streaked or blotched with black below.

Size.-The average size of Larks is from 7 to 8 inches, few species being much smaller than these dimensions

[ix/(rim! Structm-v.—An unusually long hind toe-nail is the common characteristic of almost all Larks: the back of the tarsus is rounded; the outer primary is usually short or rudimentary. the bill, in our species, is rounded and rather slender, and in the genus Otatarj‘x a pair of feather- tufts or "horns " appears on the sides of the head.

zip/mummy and Habitt.—Larks are terrestrial and consequently are walkers, not hoppers. They inhabit open tracts of country, where, after the nesting season, they usually are found in ﬂocks. The Horned Larks have the outer tail feathers marked with white, which shows when the bird takes ﬂight—an excellent field-mark, which, however, is also pos— sessed by the Vesper Sparrow.

Sang.—Great variability is exhibited in the songs of Larks, the Sky Lark having vocal powers which have made it famous, while some species are comparatively unmusical. As a rule, however, they all agree in sing- ing on the wing, as is customary among terrestrial species which do not mount to a perch when uttering their song.

FAMILY 3, CROWS AND JAYS. Cora/ides. 6 species, 3 subspecies.

Range.—The nearly 200 Crows and Jays known to science are found in all parts of the world except New Zealand. They are more common in the northern than in the southern hemisphere, and in America no Crows, and comparatively few Jays, are found south of the' Isthmus of Panama.

Stator—Changing the nature of their food as circumstances require, Crows and Jays are usually resident wherever found. Our Crows and Blue Jays, however, migrate and are less common, or wanting, at the northern limit of their range in winter than in summer.

C0[DI‘.—CI'OWS and their near allies are, as a rule, entirely or largely black; Jays are usually more or less brightly colored, blue being varied with black and white, being a common type of coloration. In both groups the sexes are essentially alike in color.