THE LARKS. Ill 



birds in a famished condition ; not even water being 

 supplied them, while they are also very roughly handled, 

 all the quill feathers of one wing being pulled out to prevent 

 their escape. 



The natives are very fond of keeping various Larks 

 as cage-birds, and have separate names for the different 

 species ; but curiously enough, the Skylark, so popular 

 at home, does not seem a favourite with fanciers in 

 India. 



Larks will do well and live long in cages, and will of 

 course thrive well in an aviary also. Not more than a 

 pair of each species should be put in an aviary, as the 

 cocks are very quarrelsome. On account of their 

 omnivorous habits, they are easy to keep ; in captivity they 

 take to perching a great deal, if in a small aviary, 

 but not in a large one. They have seldom been bred in 

 confinement. As Larks, although common, are not 

 usually garden birds, and are not very interesting in an 

 aviary as a rule, I shall only notice one species which is 

 particularly desirable. 



The Crested Lark {Galerida cristata) is well known 

 to the natives under the name of Chendool. There is 

 nothing very distinctive about its plumage, which is light 

 brown above and creamy-white below, with darker streaks, 

 most strongly marked on the breast ; but it can easily 

 be distinguished from other Larks by its narrow crest of 

 a few long feathers, and by its long thin bill, this being 

 not unlike that of a bird of the Thrush family, but rather 

 longer. The tail is rather short, and the whole length of 

 the bird about seven inches. The hen and cock are alike, 



