6 Mr. Austin Roberts on 



The Rufous Lark [Mirafra ratipUea) is to be heard as it 

 rises about twelve or fifteen feet from the ground with 

 rjipidlj-flapping wings, and floats gently downwards again 

 with a clear whistling note, sounding something like " Pho- 

 hee/' with the last syllable drawn out in a melancholy note. 

 The nest of this species is placed between or under short tufts 

 of grass and rather exposed, so that the eggs can be easily 

 seen. The eggs are usually laid in December or onwards to 

 March, according to the fall of rains and the consequent 

 condition of the veld ; they are three in number, white 

 thickly covered with patches and speckles of slate-blue and 

 various shades of brown, and measure 20-21 X 14*9— 

 15*3 mm. 



The Latakoe Lark [Mirafra cJuniana) is common in suit- 

 able places, such as open grassy valleys, and during certain 

 periods of the day many of the males may be heard singing 

 their best in competition with one another high up in the 

 air ; they imitate all manner of birds and, failing this, com- 

 pose little trills of their own. Their nests are very cleverly 

 concealed, as a rule deep under a thick tussock of grass, 

 and a very careful search is necessary to find them, even 

 when the place from which the birds flew up has been marked. 

 The eggs are variable in colour ; in a clutch taken at Pretoria 

 in January they are so profusely speckled with two shades of 

 slate-brown that the ground-colour cannot be made out dis- 

 tinctly with the naked eye ; in one of tliem the markings 

 form a ring at the obtuse end ; they measure 20"2 x 14 mm. 



Pink-billed Lark (Spizocori/s ronh'osfris). — Small parties 

 are sometimes met with before the nesting-season, during 

 which single birds only are to be seen. TIjc nest is usually 

 placed under the partial shelter of some broad-bladed weed 

 or small tuft of grass in some ojien situation. The eggs vary 

 considerably in all characters, though they seem not to be 

 marked with large spots ; they measure 17-18 x 12*5-13 mm., 

 and from two to four eggs form the clutch. 



Red-capped Lark {Tephrorori/s cinerea). — This species is 

 common in all parts of South Africa in " outspans " in open 



