198 



FRINQILLID^. 



Length.-— 6 to 6-5 inches, wing 3-25 to 3-75, tail 2'25, bill at front 

 0-37 to 0-5. 



Hah. — Throughout India to Cashmere and Nepaul; Sind, Kutch, Raj- 

 putana, N. Guzerat, Concan, Deccan, Beloochistau, Afghanistan, Punjab, 

 'N. W. Provinces, Cashmere. 



Gen. Galerida. — Bole. 



Bill lengthened, curved slightly ; wings with the first primaries 

 partially developed, next four sub-equal; head crested. 



Galerida cristata, Liim.; Gould. B. Eur. pi. 165; P. E. 503, i. 

 Naum. vogt. t. 99, i.; Jerd. B. Ind. ii. p. 437, No. 769 ; Blf. East.Pers. 

 ii. p. 240; Hume, 8tr. F. i. 214; vii. 185; Murray, Hdh'k., Zool., §'c., 

 Siud, p. 191. — The Laege Crested Laek. 



Head, nape, back, scapulars, rump and upper tail-coverts pale 

 sandy or pale rufous brown; the feathers of the crest, and in some 

 specimens, of the forehead also, with a mesial dai'k brown streak ; 

 the back and scapulars with dark shaft-stripes ; a pale fulvous streak 

 from the nostrils to above the eye as a supercilium; lores pale fulvous 

 or fulvous white, with, in some specimens, a faint dusky streak in 

 the centre, in front of the eye ; feathers below the eye whitish, followed 

 by curved dusky line, then white, and followed by a dusky streak at 

 the base of the lower mandible on each side ; chin, throat, sides of 

 the neck and breast white; abdomen, flanks, and under tail-coverts 

 sullied white ; breast with longitudinal streaks or oval spots ; ear-coverts 

 pale brown; wings pale brown; the wing-coverts edged and tipped pale 

 rufous, also the primaries, secondaries and tertiaries, and all with a broad 

 rufous or pale salmon margin on their inner web, the under wing-coverts 

 and wing lining being of this Lue ; tail dusky or dark brown, the 

 centre feathers broadly margined with rufescent, or mixed rufescent 

 and dusky, the outermost feather on each side rufescent, or rufescent 

 white, except a dusky wash on the inner web ; the next margined with 

 rufescent white on the outer web, forming a tip of the same colour, and 

 running up and forming a very narrow edge on the inner web for one- 

 half the length of the feathers (this is not constant), rest of the tail 

 feathers very narrowly tipped with rufescent white; bill yellowish 

 dusky on the ridge of the upper mandible ; legs pale brown ; ii-ides 

 dark brown. 



Length.— 7 to 7-5 inches, wing 3-75 to 4*25, tail 2-25 to 2-75, bill at 

 front 6-75. 



Hub. — Universally distributed from sea level to nearly 8,000 feet 

 above the sea; S. E. Europe, Asia, Africa, throughout India, Persia, 

 Beloochistan, and Afghanistan. Like A. gitfgula it rises in the air to 

 a great height, soaring up to the sun, often so high, that the eye cannot 

 follow it, all the while singing, as it advances higher and higher, as if 

 springing up into the higher regions. This is chiefly noticed during 

 the breeding season (April and May). It however descends rapidly, 

 but continues its song till within a few feet of the ground. As re- 

 marked by Mr. Hume, this species is variable in size and colouration, so 

 much so, that at least half a dozen species have been made by Franklin, 



