1 92 1.] Birds of Macedonia. 201 



Grainatna. The rolling hills between the two last-named 

 places were especially good breeding-grounds. These hills 

 are very bare. The ground is stony and clothed with short 

 grass, with uneven clumps o£ l)rambles here and there 

 which are in some places so dense that they constitute a 

 thicket. There is only an occasional group of trees or any- 

 thing that resembles a hedge. It is, in fact, ideal country 

 for Shrikes, Bantings, and Whitethroats. I was not in time 

 for early eggs, but on the 1st of July there were five nests 

 each containing four eggs, and in all cases well incubated. 

 Youns birds seen in the nest at the end of June and begin- 

 ning of July. The nests were fairly well made, not models 

 of neatness exactly, and usually placed in the thickest part 

 of an individual spray on a low bush. None of the nests 

 were down in the centre of the bushes, and they were all 

 easy enough to find. The male would sit on a top twig 

 near the nest, singing. The hen would dart off the nest 

 when you had started to poke the bush about with a stick, 

 and rarely before. The bushes chosen were mostly below 

 the waist in height. 



Lullula arltorea. Wood-Lark. 



Seen from September onwards. A few in August. Small 

 parties of from four to six birds at Baisili in autumn. 



Alauda arvensis. Sky-Lark. 



Frequent, but not found breeding. The level ground 

 between Orljak and the river was a good place to find them 

 in winter. 



Melanocorypha calandra. CJalandra Lark. 

 Oonnnon, but not nearly so numerous on the Struma plain 

 as (jralerida rristata. Eggs at intervals in April. 



Calandrella brachydactyla. Short-toed Lark. 



A pair near the Struma on 26 May were probably breeding, 

 but I could not find the eggs. Other pairs seen in June on 

 the hills (Mirova and Kurkut). Found breeding at Kara- 

 suli and Dadular (a camp quite near to Salonica) by Major 

 Sladen. 



SEB. XI. — VOL. III. P 



