Horned Lark (Otocoris Alpestris) Lark Family
Called also: SHORE LARK

Length -- 7.5 to 8 inches. About one-fifth smaller than the robin. Male -- Upper parts dull brown, streaked with lighter on edges and tinged with pink or vinaceous; darkest on back of head neck, shoulders, and nearest the tail. A few erectile feathers on either side of the head form slight tufts or horns that are wanting in female. A black mark from the base of the bill passes below the eye and ends in a horn-shaped curve on cheeks, which are yellow. Throat clear yellow. Breast has crescent shaped black patch. Underneath soiled white, with dusky spots on lower breast. Tail black, the outer feathers margined with white, noticed in flight. Female -- Has yellow eye-stripe; less prominent markings, especially on head, and is a trifle smaller. Range -- Northeastern parts of North America, and in winter from Ohio and eastern United States as far south as North Carolina. Migrations -- October and November. March. Winter resident

Far away to the north in Greenland and Labrador this true lark, the most beautiful of its genus, makes its summer home. There it is a conspicuously handsome bird with its pinkish-gray and chocolate feathers, that have greatly faded into dull browns when we see them in the late autumn. In the far north only does it sing, and, according to Audubon, the charming song is flung to the breeze while the bird soars like a skylark. In the United States we hear only its call-note.