ALAUDiE. 263 



Here, according to M. Grandidier, it is to be seen climbing 

 up the thick trunks of the trees or flitting from branch to 

 branch in search of insects and tbeir larva?, which it picks out 

 from the crevices of the bark with its long slender bill; but it is 

 absent from the damper forests which clothe the eastern flanks 

 of the great central mountain range. They live together in 

 flocks of ten to fifteen, and have a heavy, slow flight. These 

 forests to the west of the island resound with their strong 

 plaintive cry which resembles that of a child, and has suggested 

 the Sakalavas name " Voron-zaza" and the Antankaras name 

 of " Fitilintsaiky," both of which signify Baby-bird, which, 

 I think, may be well retained as an English name for this 

 species. 



According to M. Grandidier, the nest is flat, with a slight 

 depression in the middle, and consists of a rough mass of dry 

 small branches lined with shreds of grass, and is generally 

 placed in the fork of a bough at a considerable distance from 

 the ground, and there the parents bring up a brood of three 

 or four young ones, which are tended to by them for some 

 time after leaving the nest. 



Section II. ALATJDJE. 



Bill variable in shape, rarely longer than the head ; tongue entire. 

 "Wing with nine or ten primaries ; secondaries generally abnormally 

 elongated, so as to extend nearly, or quite, to the end of the wing. Tail 

 of twelve feathers and square at the end. Tarsus always with the hinder 

 portion scaled when the wing has a bastard primary ; legs rather long and 

 slender and well adapted for their terrestrial pursuits. They feed upon 

 insects and seeds. Nest cup-shaped and placed on or near the ground and 

 occasionally in holes. Eggs from two to five in number, spotted, whitish 

 with brown or dusky markings, most numerous at the thicker end, near 

 which they often form a zone. They are mostly gregarious after the 

 breeding season and some are migratory. Generally, the plumage is alike 

 in both sexes, varies somewhat according to the season, and the young 

 distinctly marked. 



