82 PYRRHULAUDA NIGRICEPS. 



The Cape Verde Sparrow-Lark is confined to the group of 

 islands of that name. 



The type was discovered during a voyage of H.M.S. 

 " Beagle," at the Cape Verde islands. Dr. Dohrn found this 

 Lark on St. Jago, where it is, according to Captain Boyd 

 Alexander, " locally distributed on the island, and becoming less 

 plentiful in its northern portion. It frequents the stretches of 

 the higher plain-levels near the coast, in flocks that vary greatly 

 in size. On one occasion we saw as many as sixty birds 

 together. In these flocks there is a great percentage of 

 females. To discover the presence of these birds puzzled us 

 considerably at times. On the approach of footsteps they 

 emit a faint, piping, ventriloquial note, like that of a young 

 chicken, as they sit crouched together among the stones ; and 

 their plumage being much like the colour of tbe soil, it is 

 almost next to impossible to discover them. They generally 

 sit very close, and resort to flight only when absolutely obliged, 

 then rising up close to one's feet to fly a few hundred yards 

 ahead, and alighting again. The male has rather a pleasing 

 little song, but somewhat monotonous ; it is uttered on the 

 wing, and sometimes, but not often, on the topmost twig of a 

 tree. When singing on the wing the bird rises in concentric 

 circles, with a very jerky Pipit-like flight, up to a height of 

 not more than thirty feet, and then hangs in the air for a few 

 seconds, after which it stops its song, and with wings closed, 

 drops to the ground again. Their chief food is grass-seed, and 

 throughout the day the birds keep moving from one feeding- 

 ground to another. In February we found them moulting, the 

 plumage of the majority being in a poor state." He adds : 

 " Breeding commences at the beginning of October. Flat 

 stone-covered places near the sea are the favourite resorts, 

 the birds breeding together in large societies. The nests are 

 extremely difficult to discover. If you stand still, the male 



