478 Mr. M. J. Nicoll — Contributions 



99. Al^mon alaudipes (Desf.). 

 Certhilauda desertorum Shelley, p. 135. 



Alcemon alaudipes alaudipes (Desf.) ; Hartert, Vog. d. pal. 

 Fauna, iii. p. 250. 



The Bifasciated Lark is met with siuglj, in pairs, or in 

 small flocks on the edge of the desert in the Province. 

 I have specimens of two distinct phases collected by 

 Mr. Bonhote and myself, oae rufous-sandy above with small 

 markings on the breast, the other greyish above with large 

 blotches of black : in some specimens these blotches coalesce 

 and form patches. 



Up to the present time I have no breeding examples from 

 Egypt. 



100. Galerida cristata nigricans. 



Galerila niyricans Brehm, Vogelfang und .Naumanuia, 

 1858, p. 206. 



Galerida cristata nigricans Brehm; Hartert, Vog. d. pal. 

 Fauna, ii. p. 227. 



This dark form of the Crested Lark ranges in the Delta 

 from Damiettato Cairo. It is common near Giza and nests 

 in the Birseem fields. I have a series of specimens obtained 

 at different times of the year, and in all of these the markings 

 on the breast are very black and broad. 



101. Galerida cristata (?). 



Amongst my series of Giza Crested Larks I have a specimen 

 which I shot during the winter, entirely different from G. c. 

 nigricans — paler and less thickly spotted on the breast. This 

 bird exactly matches one shot by myself at Damietta in 

 January, and three collected near Port Said by Commander 

 H. LyneSj now in Mr. H. F. Witherby's collection. As 

 I do not at present know the breeding-place of this form I 

 consider it inadvisable to give it a nauie. It is possible that 

 it breeds near Lake Menzaleh, but, on the other hand, it 

 may be an immigrant from somewhere in Southern Europe. 

 I hope to be able to find out more about its breeding-place 

 shortly. 



I have not vet met with G. c. altirostris. 



