What is it?

I got a call a few days ago from Curt in Lusk, WY about a tiny bird he found upside down in the snow at his ranch. Lusk is over 300 miles east and south of me and they had gone from 80 degrees to two feet of snow. I was at a loss as to what species of bird this was so sent feelers out to friends who have a lot of bird knowledge.

Today I got the answer from my expert, Doug Faulkner, in Colorado. It's a juvenile Horned Lark! I rarely get these birds let alone a young one but should have figured it out myself. As the weather in Lusk was supposed to greatly improve the next day I told Curt to take the youngster outside when the sun was out and place him in one of his open sheds where other birds were congregating. Hopefully all went well.