List of Birds observed in Malta and Go~o. 225 



at the Saliui on the 30th March, 1871, has the white parts 

 beautifully tinged with rufous cream-colour. Two others, 

 sex unfortunately not noted, one of which was taken in Sept. 

 1861, are in the brown plumage. Oue of these, probably a 

 young male in autumn, has the black patch fully developed. 

 My not having hitherto included Saxicola melanoleuca in the 

 Malta list arose from considering it iindistinguishable from 

 S. stapazina, Linn., from which it appear schiefiy to differ 

 in the extent of black on the throat, and in having a more 

 eastern range. 



271 . Calaxdhella minor (Dresser, Birds of Europe, pt. xxi. 

 Sept. 1873). Lesser Short-toed Lark. 



Calandritis minor, Cab. Mus. Hein. i, p. 123, "N.E. Africa.^^ 

 This is another new bird for the European list ; and for a 

 knowledge of its occurrence we are indebted to the author of 

 the ' Birds of Europe,^ who certainly deserves all the credit 

 of having detected it among some skins of C. brachydactyla 

 (Ibis, 1864, p. 60) sent to him by me from Malta. The desert 

 Larks approach so closely to one another that it is quite im- 

 possible without a good series to differentiate them. The 

 specimen which entitles this bird to a place in the avifauna 

 of Europe was obtained by me in Malta in November, 1862. 

 Mr. Dresser, in the great work above quoted, says that this 

 species closely resembles Calandrella pispoletta, Pallas's Short- 

 toed Lark (which, in its turn, had also been confounded by 

 authors with C. brachydactyla), but differs from it in being 

 smaller and much more rufous and less grey in colour. This 

 '' elegant little bird, the smallest of the group," is found in 

 Northern Africa, Palestine, Arabia, Egypt, and Nubia. Its 

 habits are said to be similar to those of the Common Short- 

 toed Lark {Calandrella brachydactyla). 



272. Emberiza pusilla, Pallas. Little Bunting. 



It is with much pleasure that I announce, for the first time, 

 the presence of this pretty little bird in ]Malta. A specimen 

 was brought to me alive by a bird-catcher on the 24th of Oc- 

 tober 1873, and continued to live till the 1st of November, 

 when it was found dead in its cage. It was taken in a net a 



