56 MIRAFRA AFRICANA. 



eastern portion, where Sir Andrew Smith procured the type 

 of his M. africana. The Messrs. "Woodward met with these 

 Larks at Bschowe and Ukmdi in Zululand, and Mr. T. Ayres 

 obtained the type of Megalojphonus rostratus in Natal, where 

 they are abundant. 



The Rufous-naped Larks are equally plentiful throughout 

 the Transvaal. To birds from this country have been given 

 the subspecific name of M. africana transvaalensis by Mr. 

 Ernst Hartert, who regards the great mountain range from 

 which the Vaal river rises as the boundary between this form 

 and the typical M. africana of Smith. 



To the north of the Limpopo, in the country from which 

 the types of M. grisescens, Sharpe, came, Mr. T. Ayres, while in 

 company with the late Mr. J. S. Jameson, shot one of the 

 typical specimens at Kanye and writes : " This Lark is by no 

 means plentiful. The bird we procured was breeding. The 

 nest was placed in a small hollow behind a tuft of grass, and 

 was roughly composed of dry half-decayed grass, loosely put 

 together. The eggs, three in number, are white, almost entirely 

 covered with umber brown freckles or spots of various shades, 

 and milky white blotches, the obtuse end being the most 

 marked; they measure 0'9 inch by 0'6." In the British 

 Museum there are also specimens collected by Frank Gates at 

 Tibakais Vley, 18° 52' S. lat., 26° 18' B. long., and by Dr. 

 Bradshaw in the Makalaka country. 



In Mashona, according to Mr. Gruy Marshall, this Lark is 

 " generally distributed, though nowhere plentiful, often fre- 

 quenting the vicinity of houses in the town. It is a solitary 

 bird, fond of settling on the top of some low bush, where it 

 will remain for a long time, uttering its three-note call with a 

 perseverance worthy of a better cause. When disturbed it 

 goes off with a low fluttering flight, either alighting on the 

 next convenient bush or dropping to the ground, when it runs 



