ICTERID.'K — Tli K ( )1U0LES. 



171 



usuallv, IVdiu five to six eggs. Tlie.se are nt' an olilniig-iival shape, and 

 measure l.dli inches in length by .70 of an inch in breadth. Their ground- 

 color is of a pale greenish-white, profusely covered with blotclies and finer 

 dottings of dnib, purplish-browu, aud umber. 



Gems STURNELLA, Vieillot. 



Stumclla, ViKiLLuT, Analysi', l.^lti. ^Type, Alauda nuujim, L.) 



Gen. Char. Body thick, stout ; legs large, toes reaching beyond tlie tail. Tail short, 

 even, with narrow acuminate feathers. Bill slender, elongated ; length about three times 



Sriir/itf'n ynn^iw. 



the height ; commissure straight from the basal angle. Culmen flattened basally, ex- 

 tending backwards and parting the frontal leathers; longer than the head, but shorter 

 than tarsus. Nostrils linear, covered by an incumbent membranous scale. Inner lateral 

 toe longer than the outer. 



but not reaching to basal 

 joint of middle ; hind toe a 

 little shorter than the middle, 

 which is equal to the tarsu.s. 

 Hind claw nearly twice as 

 long as the middle. Feathers 

 of head stiffened and bristly; 

 the shafts of those above 

 extended into a black seta. 

 Tertials nearly ecjual to the 

 primaries. Feathers above all 

 transvereely banded. Be- 

 neath yellow, with a black 

 pectoral crescent. 



.V)/r7i' l/n nin^iin 



The only species which we can admit is the S. mayna, though under this 

 name we group several geographical races. They may be distinguished as 

 follows : — 



