How to Name the Birds 21
glossy black, the plumage being sprinkled with whitish dots, which are larger and more numerous in winter.
External Strutlure.—The Starling has a rather long, slender, flattened bill, which, in summer, is yellow, with the outer primary about half an inch long, long pointed wings, a short square tail, and strong, stout feet.
dp/zmrantz and HabitL—The Starling’s long, pointed wings and short tail give it, in the air, the appearance of a flying spear-head. The wings move rapidly, but before alighting it sails for some distance. On the
HORNE!) LARK. Family Alaudldw
Onurrhird natural size
ground, its habit of walking and short tail readily identify it. In the fall Starlings gather in flocks, which, near New York city, sometimes contain over 100 individuals.
Sang—When in flocks Starlings utter a singular cackling, metallic chorus. They have also a long-drawn, clear, high, two—noted whistle, the second note being slightly lower than the first.
. FAMILY 2‘ Laws, xllzzrulidw. 1 species. 1 subspecies.
Ranger—The Larks, numbering about 100 species, are, with the ex» ception of the Horned Larks (genus Oiarar'yr), confined to the Old World. The Horned Larks are represented in the Old World by three or more species, and in this country by one species and some twelve races, or subspecies, two of which, the true Horned Lark and its small race, the Prairie Horned Lark, are found east of the Mississippi. The former breeds in Labrador and the Hudson Bay region, and ranges southward in winter to Virginia and Illinois; the latter breeds in the upper Mississippi valley from southern Illinois northward and eastward through western
