The Oologists Record, September i, 1922. 53 



was at the end of May, when I was out riding one day, and it was 

 impossible for me to take away the four eggs whose incubation 

 appeared to be advanced. The nest, of the usual type, was placed in 

 a small hollow in open grass land. The eggs are very much smaller 

 than those of the Calandra Lark, and the colouring is generally 

 greyer. I fancy the main breeding season is in May, but cannot 

 state what number of eggs constitutes a normal clutch. 



Ammomanes deserti fratercukis. Desert Lark. 



This is a common species on the nearly barren hills just west of 

 the Jordan Valley near Jericho. It is resident, but I never had the 

 good fortune to find any nests or eggs. It breeds in May. The 

 birds utter a plaintive piping note which is quite unmistakable. 



Galerida cristata brachyura, Crested Lark. 



As I never collected any skins of Crested Larks either in the hills 

 or plains, I cannot be absolutely certain that all my eggs belong to 

 brachyura, as nests found in the Judean Hills, 12 miles and further 

 north and north-wes^ of Jerusalem, may well belong to the race 

 cinnamomea. The Crested Lark is a resident and well distributed, 

 whether in the hills or on the plains, and may be found breeding 

 almost anywhere. I don't think there is any doubt of its being 

 double-brooded, and the normal clutch of eggs is probably five, 

 though it is not at all unusual to find only four eggs being incubated, 

 while the set of six eggs I found is, I think, quite abnormal. In 

 1918, in the Judean Hills, I found the first nest, which contained five 

 fully-fledged young, on May 22, and this bird starts nesting as 

 early as the middle of March. The next nest was taken on June 9, 

 and contained six eggs, which had been incubated for about 

 a week. There was nothing unusual in the type of nest which was 

 placed in the shelter of a bush and rock at the top of a hill 2,600 feet 

 above sea-level. The nesting materials were very loosely put 

 together, and just fell to pieces when picked up. The eggs are 

 greyish-white in ground colour, thickly and finely speckled, as well 

 as spotted all over with shell markings of various shades of 

 grey, and more boldly marked all over with yellow-brown surface 

 spots. Markings are often very profuse at the larger end, where 

 there is frequently a ringed zone. Rings are occasionally found 

 round the narrow and pointed end. These eggs are not unlike those 

 of the Calandra Lark, but are a trifle smaller, very considerably 



