CERTHILAUDA. 199 



Sykes, Jerdon and Blyth. " The examination of a large series/' 

 Ml'. Hume says, " proves that it is impossible to draw a line anywhere 

 between the largest and the smallest examples. A perfect series of 

 the wings occurs, and as for the difference in tone of plumage, big and 

 little examples are alike met with amongst the brown^ rufous, sandy, 

 grey or desert colour types.'' 



Gen. Certhilauda. — Sws. 



Bill slender, lengthened, longer than in Galerida, more or less curved; 

 nostrils naked ; wings long, first quill spurious, next three sub-equal ; 

 tail moderate or long, even ; hind claw variable. 



Certhilauda desertorum, Stanley ; Gould. Eur. pi. 1 68 ; Tem. PI. 

 Col. 393; Jerd. B. lad. ii. 439, No. 770 ; Hume, Sir. F. i. 216; Blf. 

 East. Per. ii. p. 240 ; Murray, ZooL, Si'c, Sind, p. 192 ; Gray, Handlist, 

 No. 7794; Bupjj. Abyss, pi. 5. Certhilauda doriiie, 8alv. Atti. U. Acad. 

 8ci. Tor. iii. 1868, p. 292.— The Desert Lark. 



Head, nape, back, scapulars and rump isabelline or pale earthy 

 grey, slightly tinged with fulvescent on the back and scapulars; upper 

 tail-coverts pale brown, edged with whitish; supercilium, a small patch 

 under the eye, chin and throat white; ear-coverts fulvous white ; a 

 spot in front of the eye, another behind the eye just above the ear- 

 coverts, and a streak from the gape, dark brown ; feathers of the 

 breast dusky or dark brown, edged and tipped with white ; the lower 

 breast with a few dark brown oval spots ; sides of the breast isabelline 

 or pale earthy grey, tiuged with fulvescent ; rest of under surface, includ- 

 ing the vent and under tail-coverts, white ; primaries and their 

 coverts dark brown, nearly black ; the primaries basally white, and their 

 coverts margined and tipped with white ; first primary pale brown, 

 very short ; second twice its length, and a third shorter than the 

 third ; secondaries white, dark brown on the middle of each feather, 

 the dark brown broadest on the first secondary of the sixth quill, 

 and decreasing obliquely in extent on the next and following, towards 

 their bases, till on the last it forms a small spot ; tei'tiaries fulvescent, 

 broadly shaded in the middle along the shaft with dusky, and all with 

 obsolete dusky transverse barrings; wing-covei^ts pale brown, edged 

 with fulvescent ; edge of the wing and under wing-coverts white ; 

 tail dark brown, graduated ; the centre feathers fulvescent, shaded witk 

 dusky or pale earthy brown, the outermost on each side margined on 

 the outer web and tipped white, the next very narrowly margined and 

 tipped whitish, and the rest with very faint margins of fulvescent, and 

 all with obsolete dusky transverse barrings ; bill horny, darker on the 

 ridge and yellowish white at the base of the lower mandible; irides 

 brown ; legs China white. 



Length. — 9 to 11 inches, wing 5 to 5-45, tail 3'75 to 4*2, bill at front 

 1-1 to 1-2. 



Hab.—S. E. Europe, N. Africa, Arabia, Sind, Punjab, N. W. Provin- 

 ces, Beloochistan, Persia and Afghanistan. Inhabits desert places 

 and sandy tracts. 



