The Horned Lark

Last weekend while driving to my cousin's farm I saw this guy hanging out in an adjacent field. I stopped the truck in the farm lane and took some pictures. At the first quick glance I thought, "Killdeer". But soon knew that was wrong. But as I went about things that afternoon I thought, "Quail, maybe Bobwhite", it's been years since I've seen one of those in the wild. But I started through the bird book page by page and hit the right page. This is a Horned Lark. The map on this guy shows that it is widespread and travel in flocks during the winter. Again I ask , "If this bird is so widespread and flock up during the winter, why have I never seen one before?"