548 PERCHING BIRDS 



reinforced by a large influx of strangers from east and north-east Europe. 

 About the end of Januar\- 1907, a flock of black larks {Aiauda 

 yeltoniensis), of which several were taken, visited south-eastern England. 



The short -toed lark {Calandrella brachydactyla), representing a 

 genus distinguished from Alauda by the smaller bodily size of its 

 members, their relatively longer wings, and the curved claw of the hind- 

 toe, is too rare a visitor to the British Islands to be accorded a definite 

 place in the list. Up to the year 1908 only eleven instances of the 

 occurrence of their species appear to have been recorded ; most of 

 these being from the south coast of England, although one specimen 

 is Irish, and another was taken in the Outer Hebrides (Flannan 

 Islands) in 1904, while a fourth occurred in Fair Isle in 1907. This 

 lark is a southern species, breeding in the south of France, and thence 

 through the Mediterranean countries as far east as Turkestan. The 

 general colour of the plumage of the back is sandy brown, with dark 

 brown middles to the feathers, while the quills and tail-feathers are 

 dark brown with buffish edges. 



A still rarer visitor is the crested lark {Galej'ita cristata)^ a member 

 of a genus in which the head has a long and pointed crest, the first 

 primary quill is relatively large, the claw of the hind-toe shorter than 

 the beak, and the beak itself comparatively long and slender. As 

 these features are sufficient to identify the species, further description 

 may be omitted. The species ranges over portions of the three great 

 continents, but during last century less than a dozen instances of the 

 occurrence of this lark in the British Islands were recorded, and some 

 of these ma\' be doubtful. The majority of these specimens were from 

 the southern counties of England, but one came from Ireland. One 

 from Cambridgeshire is stated to have been reared from a nest. 



Wood-Lark ^ '^^ wood-lark (which, together with the three 

 (Lullula arborea) •''Pccies just mentioned, is included by some writers 

 in Alauda) is the sole representative of its genus, 

 which differs from C'alendrella by the longer claw of the hind-toe, and 

 tiie fuller and more rounded, in place of pointed, crest. From the 

 sky-lark, to which it presents a close superficial resemblance, the wood- 

 lark may be distinguished h\- its inferior size (length not exceeding 

 half-a-dozen inches), the much shorter tail, the more slender beak, the 

 longer first primar\- (juill, and the presence of a broad buff eyebrow- 

 stripe. In the hen the crest and wings are shorter ; while immature 

 birds are apparentl)' distinguishable from \'oung sk\--larks merel)' by 

 the longer first primar}- quill. 



