Ornithology of the Var S^c. 385 



have hardly recognised in England as a Lark's^ it being 

 constructed so as to completely arch over the sitting bird, 

 and affording an admirable protection for her. She was 

 unlike the Larks at Grasse, being lighter and of a mealy tint, 

 and was probably of the subspecies A. cantarella. 



Crested Lark. Alauda cristata. 



The ''Alouette cochevis" is called " sedentary/' but evi- 

 dently receives accessions ; it cannot be very migratory in the 

 north of France or it would not stop short within sight of 

 the shores of England. 



A ploughed field, especially if the harrow has not long 

 since been over it, seems a very favourite resort ; and there 

 the cock and hen feed, and are very constant partners to one 

 another, as may be noticed in the Pas de Calais. I never saw 

 them come into villages, or perch on houses, or pant from the 

 heat, or associate with Finches. Neither Mr. Wharton nor 

 Mr. Whitehead include this species as a bird of Corsica, which 

 seems very singular ; but this is paralleled by its abundance 

 on the south, and absence on the north, side of the Straits of 

 Dover. Pellicot and De Palluel speak of a larger and 

 darker race which the country people distinguish as the 

 " Coquillade.^' 



Short-toed Lark. Alauda brachydactyla. 



Two examples of A. brachydactyla were observed near 

 Frejus on April 18th and 2rlth, but I do not think that we 

 saw A. calandra except in a cage. Two Larks which rose out 

 of the cistus on May 10th were thought to be A. arborea, as 

 certainly were two seen at a shop in Cannes on a former 

 visit. A dark form of the Short-toed Lark has been recently 

 distinguished in Provence by the Baron de Palluel. 



Alpine Swift. Cypselus melba. "Martinet a ventre blanc." 

 Two seen by Mr. St. Quintin, and another by Miss Broad- 

 wood at Bagnol — probably not uncommon. C. apus is very 

 numerous, and, as at Algiers, delays its migration a while 

 by the coast ; both species are known by the appropriate 

 name of "^Coupo-ven" (Jaubert). A few individnals of 

 C. apus may breed in St. Raphael Church. 



