212 BIRDS OF SOUTH AFRICA. 



425. Alauda Erythronotus, steph. ; Zooi. s. 



Af, PI. 110, fig. 2 ; Brachonyx Fyrrhoiiotha, Smith ; 

 Z. S. A., PI. 1 1 0, f. 2. 



Back of the neck and back, rufescent, variegated with brown ; 

 throat and breast white, the latter streaked with brown ; 

 belly, flanks, and vent, rusty buff-orange ; wing-feathers 

 brown, margined with rufous; scapulars rusty orange-brown, 

 edged with white, and barred with liver-brown ; tail-feathers 

 umber-brown, the outer vanes and tips edged with pale 

 rufous, the two middle feathers rusty reddish-orange, barred 

 with liver-brown. 



I very much doubt the identity of the bird described by Dr. Smith, 

 Idc. cit., with the •' Alouette a dos Eoux " of Le Vaillaut, as Dr. Smith 

 believes ; and my doubts are confirmed by Sundevall. See his review 

 of Le Vaillant's birds. 



426. Megalophonus Cinereus, vieii. ; Oaian- 



drella Ruficeps, Brehm ; La Petite Alouette a Tete 

 Rousse, Le Vail., No. 199. 



General colour above, brown, the edge of each feather being 

 ashy ; top of head and sides of breast, bright rufous ; throat, 

 chest, belly, and under tail-coverts, white ; wing-feathers 

 brown, the outer one with the outer web white ; tail brown, 

 with the edges of the two central feathers the colour of the 

 back. In some specimens the throat and breast is sparsely 

 freckled with brown. In a variety received from- Colesberg, 

 the whole bird is brighter coloured, the red of the head and 

 breast more vivid, the whites purer, and the ash colour of the 

 back and centre tail-feathers charged with ruddy tinge ; 

 iris hair-brown. Length, 6" ; wing, 4" ; tail, 3" 2'". 



The red-headed lark is common throughout the colony, affecting, 

 however, some spots in preference to others ; for instance, just on the 

 top of the little hill before reaching Mowbray, on the high-road from 

 Cape Town, a few pair may aWays be found dusting themselves ; yet a 

 mile on each side the species is not often found. 



It feeds on insects and seeds, builds a nest on the ground by a tuft 

 of grass, and lays three to five eggs, of a cream colour, profusely 

 speckled with brown and purple : axis, 11'"; diam., 8'". 



427. Megalophonus Rostratus, Harti. ; ibis 



Vol., 1863, p. 326. 

 Above, fulvous-brown, with blackish markings ; back and 

 neck pale rufous, striped with black ; top of head rufous, 

 marked in the same manner ; below fulvous ; throat longi- 

 tudinally marked with black; chin white; under side of 



