>Hi tweets,
>
>The two Horned Larks that Ed Schulz, Yvonne Bombardier and I saw on Jetty
>Island in Everett last sunday were the first HOLAs I've seen on the west
>side. What was interesting was that the two were noticably different in
>color, with one being much paler on the back, and with paler yellow facial
>markings. I couldn't discern any difference in patterning, just all the
>feathers were a couple shades paler. I know HOLAs vary in color between
>different subspecies - is there a chance that single birds of two
>subspecies were together? Is there any information about which races
>migrate through or winter on the west side?
>
>I know ID to subspecies in the field is full of pitfalls - I'm just
>interested in the possibilities.
>
>Cheers,
>
>Chris Hill

I've always suspected that most of the Horned Larks that appear in western
WA in winter are arctic-breeding Eremophila alpestris arcticola, and the
specimen record bears that out. They are quite large and pale compared
with the resident E. a. strigata, declining resident of a few western WA
lowland areas, and E. a. merrilli, the common resident of eastern WA.
There is also a Cascades-breeding race, E. o. alpina, that looks very much
like arcticola and presumably winters in the nearby lowlands (in fact, it
might be more likely than arcticola west of the Cascades).

The size difference between arcticola/alpina and the other subspecies is as
striking as the color difference, so your two birds, if the same size,
definitely weren't a resident and a migrant. Beyond that, I don't know. I
would never be surprised to see individuals of more than one race traveling
together in any gregarious bird.

Dennis Paulson, Director phone 206-756-3798
Slater Museum of Natural History fax 206-756-3352
University of Puget Sound e-mail dpaulson at ups.edu
Tacoma, WA 98416
web site: http://www.ups.edu/biology/museum/museum.html