ALAUDINiE. 415 



Sub-fam. Alaudin^, Larks. 



Bill typically longer and more slender than in most Fri/Kjillidce, 

 short and thick in many ; wings broad ; tertiaries elongated, pointed ; 

 claws slightly curved ; hind toe and claw typically long ; plumage 

 brown, more or less striated. 



The Larks form a very distinct group of small ground-birds, 

 chiefly frequenting open lands, and which rise singing into the air. 

 Their form is robust, their wings arc large and very broad, to 

 sustain them in their hovering flight, whilst singing ; and the 

 tertiaries are usually much developed, as in the Motacillidce, and in 

 some other tribes, viz., the Plovers and Snipes, among the Waders. 

 The bill varies much in thickness, from that of a stout, short 

 and Finch-like bill, to a long, slender, and slightly curved beak ; 

 the culmen is generally more or less curved, and the tip blunt, not 

 notched. Their feet are fitted for running on the e;round, which 

 they do with alternate steps, not hopping, and they rarely perch 

 on trees. In some, the hind claw is very greatly elongated and 

 nearly straight. The tail is short or moderate, nearly even, or 

 very slightly forked. The plumage is plain colored, usually 

 brown, with medial dark streaks more or less developed ; and the 

 sexes, in most, resemble each other. In a few there is some black 

 on the lower surface. 



The young have pale margins to the feathers of the upper 

 surface. Most have the coronal feathers more or less lengthened, 

 and some are crested. They moult once a year, but the general 

 tone of colour alters somewhat according to season, by the 

 abrasion of the feathers ; in some, by a natural shedding of the 

 tips of the feathers. The Larks do not wash, but dust them- 

 selves, like the Gallinaceous birds. They feed partly on grains, and 

 much on grasshoppers and insects ; nidificate on the ground, and 

 their eggs are dusky greenish with numerous speckles. Many 

 sino- well, and are highly imitative. They are almost confined to 

 the Old World, one form only occurring in North America, and they 

 are very sparingly represented in Malay ana and Australia. The 

 Larks may be said to grade to the Finches on the one hand, 

 through Montijringilla and Plectrophanes ; and, on the other, into 

 the Pipits through Corydalla. 



