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tipper parts dark brown, each 

 feather edged fulvous : and indistinct 

 superciliary line ; under parts white, 

 or very pale fulvous, abdomen lighter ; 

 throat and checks white or slightly 

 streaked, and breast and sides boldly 

 streaked with black ; wings and tail 

 very dark brown, feathers edged lighter, 

 two outer tail feathers mostly pale 

 rufous or white. 



Young birds have the crown feathers 

 much rounded, and most of the feathers 

 of the upper plumage, more rufous and 

 tipped white ; wing coverts broadly 

 margined rufous. 



The Skylark varies much both in size 

 and color shades throughout its wide 

 range, giving rise to quite a complicated 

 nomenclature for the many sub-specific 

 forms. As all forms seem to intergrade, 

 it appears best to regard it as one 

 species with many climatic races. 



Distribution. — Europe, Asia, and 

 North Africa ; China generally. Com- 

 mon winter visitant in the Yangtse 

 Valley. 



Notes. — This is one of the favorite 

 cage birds of the Chinese, and sings very 

 sweetly in captivity, but is always 

 heard to best advantage in the open, on 

 some grassy slopes, especially at the 

 foot of the hills, from March to June. 

 The Chinese have rightly named it the 

 " Messenger of Heaven " 



Family, Motacillidae, Wagtails and Pipits. 



The birds of this family have slender 

 cone-shaped bills, which are always 

 shorter than the head. The tarsus 

 and toes are long and slender, 

 and the claw of the hind toe 

 is as long as the toe itself. The 

 wings are long and pointed, the outer 

 four or five of the nine primaries being 



