324: ALAUDIDvE. 



wing-coverts and quills dark brown, margined with fulvous ; no 

 white whatever about the wing ; a dark line running through the 

 lores and behind the eye ; a broad pale fulvous supercilium ; 

 cheeks and ear-coverts rufous, streaked with brown ; a patch of 

 white under the black band through the lores and under 

 the eye ; chin, throat, and a lateral band behind the ear- 

 coverts white ; a broad black band across the upper breast inter- 

 rupted in the middle ; remainder of breast fulvous streaked with 

 brown ; other parts of lower plumage white, the flanks tinged 

 with fulvous. 



The female has the black pectoral band reduced in size. 



Legs and feet fleshy or yellowish fleshy, more or less dusky at 

 joints ; claws dusky ; iris brown, in some light brown ; bill horny 

 brown or blackish horny on upper mandible, lower mandible 

 greenish horny changing to yellow at base and gape. 



Length about 7*5 ; tail 2-3 ; wing 4-5 ; tarsus 1 ; bill from gape 

 ■8 ; the female is smaller than the male. 



Distribution. A winter visitor to Sind, Rajputana, Bahawalpur, 

 the Punjab, the N.W. Provinces and Oudh, passing through 

 Kashmir on migration and summering in Central Asia. This Lark 

 extends on the west to Afghanistan and Persia and ranges as far 

 as North-eastern Africa. 



Genus ALAUDA, Linn., 1766. 



The genus Alauda is now restricted to the Sky-Larks, two species 

 or races of which occur in India. These Larks vary very much in 

 size and plumage aud I quite agree with Sharpe in not recognizing 

 more than these two species as occurring in India. 



In Alauda the bill is slender and feeble and the nostrils are 

 covered by plumelets ; there are ten primaries, the first of which is 

 very minute, and the wing is somewhat short, not reaching to far 

 beyond the middle of the tail, and the tertiaries are lengthened ; the 

 hind claw is very long and nearly straight. The sexes are alike. 



The Sky-Larks frequent cultivation chiefly, and are noted for 

 the excellence of their song, which is given forth at a great height 

 from the ground. They are abundant in most parts of India, but 

 become less frequent to the east in Burma. 



Key to the Species. 



a. Of larger size ; wing generally over 4 A. arvensis, p. 324. 



b. Of smaller size ; wing seldom exceeding 3*5 .... A. gulgnla, p. 326. 



860. Alauda arvensis. The Sl-y-Lark. 



Alauda arvensis, Linn. Syst. Nat. i, p. 287 (1766) : Blyth, Cat. 

 p. 131 ; Horsf. 8f M. Cat. ii, p. 466; Hume, S. F. i, p. 39 ; id. 

 N. 8f E. p. 48*5 ; Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii, p. 567 ; Oates in Humes 

 N, Sf E. 2nd ed. ii, p. 220. 



