ML63054721

Observation details

Original observer: Alfred Kay. Sources: James Fleming. 1913. Ontario Bird Notes. Auk (30): 225-228; VertNet.org accessed 21 April 2020; Ron Pittaway. 1994. "Recognizable Forms: Subspecies of Horned Lark" Ontario Birds 12: 109-115. "Otocoris alpestris hoyti. Hoyt's Horned Lark - one male taken at Port Sydney, Muskoka, May 17, 1909, by Mr. Alfred Kay in whose collection the bird now is. This is probably a non-breeding bird, and was shot, together with one Horned Lark and one Prairie Horned Lark, from a small flock that had been for some time about Mr. Kay's yard." The Hoyt's specimen is now in the collection of the Royal Ontario Museum, specimen # 8391. Hoyt's Horned Lark (hoyti) is one of three subspecies that occur in Ontario, the other two being Northern (alpestris) and Prairie (praticola). Hoyt's is a large bird, much larger than the Prairie, typically with a white supercillium and pale yellow restricted to the middle of the throat. Hoyt's breeds in north-central Canada, from northeastern Alberta, northwestern Saskatchewan, and northeastern Manitoba north to arctic islands.