( 249 ) 



a. cJ ad. Shaka, N. o£ Lahej August 28th. 



b~d. ? ad. Habil, Wadi Abrain, N.W. of Lahej September 13th and 14th. 

 e—f. (J Lahej August 25th. 



Iris hazel ; bill and legs flesli-colour. (A. B. P.) 



The series of this Lark collected by Mr. Percival in the neighboui'hood of Lahej 

 undoubtedly belong to M. simplex Hengl. Most of the specimens which are in worn 

 plumage agree well with the tj-pe ; but a female collected at Habil on September 

 13tli, which has the new feathers of the mantle half grown, clearly shows that it 

 belongs to the Indian species M. cantillans, which no doubt extends across Balu- 

 chistan and Persia to Arabia. M. simplex is therefore founded on worn examples of 

 M. cantillans. 



In worn Indian examples the spots on the chest are nearly obsolete, and 

 in this stage they agree with the type of M. simplex. 



15. Ammomanes saturatus subsp. nov. 



Ammonuiiies deserti Sharpe ; Cat. B. Brit. Mus. xiii. p. 646 (part specimens u to y from Abyssinia). 

 "■ ? ad. .Tebel Manif, N. of Lahej August 13th (type of the species). 



I. c. 5 ad. et tJ imm. Jebel Manif, N. of Lahej August 13th and 14th. 

 il. ad. Ma'ir, Abian Country October 13th. 



Iris brown ; bill and legs flesh-colour. (A. B. P.) 



The four birds collected by the Percival-Dodson expedition differ conspicuously 

 from tjqiical A. deserti Licht. in having the general colour of the upper parts dark 

 grey instead of isabelline, and the rufous on the rnmiJ and edges of the tail-feathers 

 more pronounced. In writing about ..4. deserti {Cat. B. Brit. Mus. xiii. p. 646) Dr. 

 Sharpe makes the following remarks : — " The Palestine birds are rather larger than 

 the Egyptian, and the Abyssinian birds are much darker grey than any from Egypt ; 

 they will probably be found to represent a permanently dark race." 



The dark Abyssinian specimens alluded to above, and entered in the list of 

 specimens under the letters u to y, agree perfectly with the Arabian examples before 

 me, and differ in s.o marked a degree from typical A. deserti that it seems necessary 

 to recognise them under a distinct name. 



Total length 5-5 in. ; cnlmen 0'65 ; wing 3-8 to 4-0 ; tail 2-55 to 2-7 ; tarsus 

 0-9 to 1-0. 



[I first met with this Lark at the foot of Jebel Manif, where I saw a few and 

 obtained a couple of siiecimens. One or two more were seen near Jimil and a 

 few amongst the hills near Ma'ir, but they were nowhere common. It is essentially 

 a hill bird and never seen on plains. — A. B. P.] 



16. Pyrrhulauda melanauchen. 



Pyrrhulauda melaimuchen (Cab.) ; Yerbury, Ibis 1896, p. 29 ; Hawker, Ibis 1898, p. 375. 



a—f. g ? ad. Wadi Al Kabir, W. of Lahej, August 22nd. 

 g—h. (J imm. Shaka, N. of Lahej, August 28th to 30th. 



[Iris brown ; bill grey ; legs light flesh-colour. 



Very common in lower deserts and wadis on the way to Lahej, but none were 

 seen farther inland, nor do I remember any being met with in the Abian Country. 

 They are strange little birds, witli their plaintive note and peculiar colouring. 

 The dark underparts of the male show very distinctly when the bird is on the 

 wing. — A. B. P.] 



