155 



ALAUDA. LARKS. 



Bill short, straight, somewhat conical, slightly compressed, 

 pentagonal at the base, and nearly as high as broad ; upper 

 mandible with its dorsal line deflected and slightly convex, the 

 ridge narrow, the nasal sinus long and anteriorly rounded, the 

 sides convex, the edges sharp and overlapping, without notch, 

 the tip rather acute ; lower mandible with the angle extending 

 to the middle, rather narrow and somewhat acute, the ridge 

 ascending and very slightly convex, the sides sloping outwards, 

 convex towards the end, the edges sharp, the tip rather acute, 

 the gape-line straight. 



' " '\ ' / 



The mouth rather narrow ; the upper mandible internally 

 with three converging ridges and four grooves ; the lower con- 

 cave with a central ridge ; the palate flat, soft, with a central 

 and two lateral prominent lines continuous with those of the 

 mandible. Posterior aperture of the nares linear, having on 

 each side an oblong inclined space covered with conical acute 

 papillae, and terminating behind in a flap beset with acicular 

 papillae. Tongue of moderate length, narrow, at the base 

 emarginate and papillate, two of the papilla? much larger, 

 flattened above, with the edges sharp, the tip slit, terminated 

 by two small bristly tufts, the lower surface horny with a deep 



