LARK 509 



successfully introduced on Long Island in the State of New York, 

 and into New Zealand — where it may possibly become as trouble- 

 some a denizen as are other subjects upon which Acclimatization 

 Societies have exercised their meddling activity. Allied to the 

 Skylark a considerable number of species have been described, of 

 which Dr. Sharpe {Cat. B. Br. Mas. xiii. pp. 566-579) deems only 

 two to be valid, besides a supposed local race, Alauda agrestis, not 

 recognized by him, the difference between which and the normal 

 bird (stated at length in Mr. Dresser's Birds of Europe, iv. 

 pp. 310, 311) is shewn above. 



The WoODLARK, the Alauda arbor ea of most systematists, has 

 been by some generically separated as Lullula. It is a much more 

 local and therefore a far less numerous bird than the Skylark, 

 from which it may be easily distinguished by its finer bill, shorter 

 tail, more spotted breast, and light superciliary stripe. Though 

 not actually inhabiting woods, as its common name might imply, 

 it is seldom found far from trees. Its song wants the variety and 

 power of the Skylark's, but has a resonant sweetness peculiarly its 

 own. The bird, however, requires much care in captivity, and is 

 far less often caged than its congener. It has by no means so wide 

 a range as the Skylark, and perhaps the most eastern locality 

 recorded for it is Tiflis, while its appearance in Egypt and even in 

 Algeria must be accounted rare. 



Not far removed from the foregoing is a group of Larks char- 

 acterized by a larger crest, a stronger and more curved bill, a 

 rufous lining to the wings, and some other minor features. This 

 group has been generally termed Galerita,^ and has for its type the 

 Crested Lark, the Alauda cristata of Linnaeus, a bird common 

 enough in parts of France and some other countries of the European 

 Continent, and said to have been obtained several times in the 

 British Islands. Many of the birds of this group frequent the 

 borders if not the interior of deserts, and such as do so exhibit a 

 more or less pale coloration, whereby they are assimilated in hue 

 to that of their haunts {cf. Geographical Distribution, p. 336). 

 The same characteristic may be observed in several other groups 

 • — especially those known as belonging to the genera Calandrella, 

 Ammomanes, and Certhilauda or Alsemon, some species of Avhich are 

 of a light sandy or cream colour. The genus last named is of very 

 peculiar appearance, presenting in some respects an extraordinary 

 resemblance to the Hoopoe, so much so that the first specimen 



^ The name, however, is inadmissible, owing to its prior use in Entomology, 

 just as is Heterops, conferred without any definition in 1844 by Hodgson or J. E. 

 Gray [Zool. Miscell. p. 84). Aristotle's old name, Corydus, was utilized by 

 Cuvier, in a slightly different form, for a very different bird, or it would have 

 come in appropriately. Any one coveting the privilege of bestowing a generic 

 name has here an easy opportunity of distinguishing himself. 



