PASSERINE. 285 



pastures, and pursue insects among the cattle. The most com- 

 mon is, 



3Iot. Jlava; Bergeronnette de printers; Enl., 674, 2. Ash- 

 coloured above, olive on the back, yellow beneathj the eyebrow 

 and two-thirds of the lateral quills of the tail, white. (1) 



Anthus, Bechst. 



The Meadow Larks were long united to the Larks (Alauda), on ac- 

 count of the long nail of their thumb; but their slender and emarginated 

 beak approximates them to the other Warblers, at the same time that 

 their secondary quills and coverts, which are as short as usual, will 

 not allow them to be confounded with Budytes. Those which still 

 have the nail somewhat arcuated are in the habit of perching. 



A. arboreus, Bechst. j Alauda trivialis and minor, Gm. ; the 

 Pipi; Enl. 660, 1;(2) Naum. 84, 2, Roux. Olive-brown above, 

 reddish-grey beneath; breast spotted with black; two pale, trans- 

 verse bands on the wing. 

 The thumb nail of others is exactly that of an alauda, and they ge- 

 nerally remain on the ground. 



A.pratensis, Bech.; Alauda pratensis, Gm.; Alouette depre, Enl. 

 661, 2;(3) Naum. 84, 3 and 85, 1. Olive-brown above, whitish 

 beneath; brown spots on the breast and flanks; whitish eye- 

 brows; edges of the external quills of the tail, white. It prefers 

 low or inundated meadows, and builds among reeds and tufts 

 of grass. It becomes excessively fat in autumn by feeding on 

 grapes, and is sought for at that period in France by the name 

 oi Bec-Jigue 2i\\d Vinette.(4) 



We will terminate this family of the Dentirostres with some 

 birds distinguished from all preceding ones by their two exter- 

 nal toes, which are united at base for about a third of their 

 length, a circumstance which approximates them to the family 

 of the Syndactyli. 



(1) Add the Mot. boarula, L. Edw., 259, and Vieill. Gal. 162. 



(2) Under the false name of Farlouse,- the Fivote ortolane, Buff. Enl. 642, 2 (Mo- 

 tacilla maculata, Gm.), is the young bird. See Roux, 288. 



(3) Improperly called Alouette pipi,- Nauman refers this figure to his Anthus 

 aquaticus, of which he thinks it is the young male. We may observe that the 

 synonymes of this subgenus are not less obscure than those of the Fauvettes. 



(4) Add the Anthus aquaticus, Naum., 85, 2, 34; La Rousseline, [Anth. Cam' 

 pestris), Enl. 661, 1; Naum., 84, 1; or Alauda mosellana. Lath, of which the young 

 is called Fist in Provence, Enl. 654, 1 [Motac. massiliensis, Gm.) See Roux, p. 

 292; the Anth. Richardi, "Vieill. Id. 101, and Roux, 189, 190. Among those 

 foreign to Europe place the Alauda capensis, Enl. 504, 2; Al. rufa, lb. 238, 1; 

 probably the ritbra, Edw., 297 , Anthus rufulus, Vieill. Gal. 161. 



