THE LARKS. nlp ial 
baskets! Something ought to be done, by the way, to 
stop the cruelty of these men in keeping the poor little 
birds in a famished condition; not even water being 
supplied them, while they are also very roughly handled, 
all the quill feathers of one wing being pulled out to 
prevent their escape. 
The natives are very fond of keeping various Larks 
as cage-birds, and have separate names for the different 
species ; but curiously enough, the Skylark, so popular at 
home, does not seem a favourite with fanciers in India. 
Larks will do well and live long in cages, and will of 
course thrive well in an aviary also. Not more than a 
pair of each species should be put in an aviary, as the 
cocks are very quarrelsome. On account of their 
omnivorous habits, they are easy to keep; in captivity 
they take to perching a great deal, if in a small aviary, 
but not ina large one. They have seldom been bred in 
confinement. As Larks, although common, are not 
usually garden birds, and are not very interesting in 
an aviary as a rule, I shall only notice one species 
which is particularly desirable. 
Tur CresteD Lark (Galerida cristata) is well known 
to the natives under the name of Chendool, There is 
nothing very distinctive about its plumage, which is light 
brown above and creamy-white below, with darker 
streaks, most strongly marked on the breast ; but it can 
easily be distinguished from other Larks by its narrow 
crest of a few long feathers, and by its long thin bill, 
this being not unlike that of a bird of the Thrush 
family, but rather longer. The tail is rather short, and 
