608 ALAUDIDJi. 



Adult male in summer j^lumaf/e. Above light fawn-brown, all the 

 feathers with a distinct blackish shaft-streak down the centre and 

 margined with ashy fulvous ; the rump slightly more ashy than the 

 back, narrowly streaked with brown ; the upper tail-coverts shading 

 off into light fulvous and having dark brown shaft-stripes ; wiug- 

 covcrts fawn-colour, dai'ker brown in the centre of the feather, 

 margined with fulvous and streaked with dark brown along the 

 shaft, the greater coverts light rufous towards their tips ; primary- 

 coverts rufous fawn, with narrow whitish margins ; quills rufous 

 fawn, gradually shading off into dark brown, which occupies about 

 the terminal third of the quills, which are margined with ashy 

 white or fawn-colour ; the secondaries brown, washed with fawn- 

 colour externally, and broadly margined and tipped with ashy buff, 

 especially the two centre ones, which are rufous fawn at base, ex- 

 tending some way up the margins of the feathers, a shade of the 

 same colour extending over the other feathers near their base, the 

 outer feather creamy buff on the outer web, the penultimate one 

 narrowly margined externally with the same colour ; crown of head 

 bright fawn-colour, with a few narrow shaft-lines of dark brown ; 

 the forehead minutely streaked, giving it a certain obscurely mottled 

 appearance ; lores and a rather broad eyebrow huffy white, as also 

 the sides of the face ; the cheeks and ear-coverts minutely spotted 

 with dark brown; the ear-coverts washed with rufous, and inclining 

 to dark brown on their upper margins ; throat white ; the rest of 

 the under surface isabelline buff, washed with bright fawn-colour, 

 minutely spotted with dark brown on the lower throat and chest, 

 and streaked with the same on the sides of the breast ; under wing- 

 coverts entirely rich fawn-colour, a little brighter on the inner 

 lining, which is rufous and very conspicuous : " upper mandible 

 dusky, lower mandible pale ; tarsi and feet pale ; iris light hazel " 

 (T. Ayres). Total length 7 inches, culmen 0"8, wing 4, tail 2*7, 

 tarsus 1'3. 



Adult female. Smaller than male, and with a much thinner bill. 

 Total length 6-8 inches, culmen 0-75, wing 3'5, tail 2-7, tarsus 

 1-2. 



Adult in vniiter plumage. Much darker than in summer, and not 

 nearly so rufous on the upper surface, the rufous of the crown 

 entirely obscured by the broad dark-brown shaft-stripes, and the 

 forehead entirely brown, shaded with ashy and slightly tinged with 

 rufous ; the hinder back and rump decidedly shaded with ashy ; 

 below rather more richly coloured than in summer, the bi'east 

 largely marked with triangular spots of dark brown ; hind neck 

 decidedly more ashy, separating the head from the back. 



The specimens from the Eastern Transvaal are more entirely 

 rufous than specimens from other parts of South Africa ; but this 

 rufous appearance has probably something to do with the nature of 

 the ground frequented by the birds, added to the abrasion of the 

 plumage during the breeding-season, when the head becomes almost 

 entirely rufous, except for the remains of a few black streaks and 

 spots. 



