426 Rev. H. B. Tristram on the 



Prince Bonaparte, as to the crest being longer, to hold good 

 uniformly. I obtained one nest, the eggs of which resemble 

 pale-coloured varieties of G. cristata, but are scarcely larger 

 than those of Calandrella brachydactyla. 



84. Galerida arenicola, Tristram, Ibis, vol. i. p. 58. (The 

 Sand Lark.) 



This bird may be at once distinguished from its congeners by 

 its bill, which is extremely elongated, slender, and curved, its 

 length being '9 inch from the gape. The total length is from 

 6i to 6| inches, being the full dimensions of G. abyssinica. Its 

 coloration also is similar, but paler, and the flanks and belly 

 are sufl"usedwith a faint Isabel hue. From its beak, and general 

 conformation, it seems to be a link between the genera Galerida 

 and Certhilauda. I met with it only in the extreme east of the 

 Algerian and in the Tunisian Sahara. Circumscribed by these 

 almost unexplored tracts, it has probably hitherto escaped the 

 observation of naturalists. 



85. Galerida macrorhyncha ; Tristram, Ibis, vol. i. p. 57. 

 {Long-billed Crested Lark.) 



Unlike its congeners, this bird, by far the largest of its genus, 

 appears only to resort to the northern edge of the Sahara, where 

 its lateral range extends from Morocco to Tripoli. As might 

 be anticipated from its habitat, its plumage partakes only in a 

 slight degree of the sandy hues which mark the true Desert 

 habitants, although very much paler than any Crested Larks 

 obtained in Europe or in the Tell. It is unnecessary to repeat 

 the diagnosis already given in ' The Ibis,^ but its size will at 

 once prevent it from being mistaken for any other species. 

 Its whole length is 7*8 inches, wing 4-5, tail 2*8, beak 1*0, 

 tarsi r05. The form of its bill resembles that of G. areni- 

 cola, but, though curved, it is not so slender, and is stouter and 

 more compressed at the base. In both species the extremity of 

 the bill is rounded and dilated, instead of running to a point 

 as in other Galeridce. This may probably arise fi'om its habit 

 of constantly digging into the soil for its food, from which 

 cause also the capistra are gcnerallj^ much worn and the nostrils 

 bare. It is very abundant near El Aghouat, where I first re- 



