266 BIRDS OF TUNISIA 



which differ a good deal, those of G. t. superfiua being much sweeter 

 and softer than those of its larger congener. During the spring, 

 when the birds are breeding, G. t. superflua has some exceedingly soft 

 and plaintive notes, which are uttered by the bird when perching on a 

 rock or bush, and may be very fairly rendered by the syllables " tweet 

 a tweet a twee," repeated two or three times, finally ending with 

 " twee-twee." Like other Crested Larks, the present subspecies often 

 sings when hovering in mid-air, and then drops suddenly to the 

 ground. It seems to be very fond of perching on bushes, and even on 

 bare and arid mountains, where vegetation is scanty, it generally 

 contrives to find some scrub plant sufficient to afford it a perch. 



In spring-time this Lark is remarkably tame and confiding, 

 allowing one to approach within a few feet of it before taking to its 

 wings. In order to entice the intruder away from its nest it will 

 resort to the device, common to many other birds, of feigning dis- 

 ablement, and running away with drooping and outspread wings. 



Its food consists of seeds and insects of various kinds. The pairing 

 of the present subspecies commences rather earlier than that of 

 G. t. major, and nests with eggs may be found in March. Between 

 the nests and eggs of the two forms, however, there appears to be no 

 appreciable difference. 



GALERIDA THEKL.£ DEICHLERI, Erlanger. 

 ISABELLINE SMALL-BILLED CRESTED LARK. 



Galerida isabellina, Loche, Expl. Sci. Alg. Ok. ii, p. 40 (1867) ; Koenig, 



J.f. 0. 1888, p. 219 ; id., J.f. 0. 1892, p. 37. 

 Galerita isabellina, SJmrpe, Cat. Birds Brit. Mies, xiii, p. 635. 

 Alauda cristata isabellina, Whitaker, Ibis, 1895, p. 102. 

 Galerita theklse deichleri, Erlanger, J. f. 0. 1899, p. 339. 



Description. — Adolt male, spring, from Bir-Zouita, South Tunisia. 



Differs from G. thehlcB superflua in being of a pale yellowish-isabelline 

 colour instead of pale sandy-brown ; the underparfcs are pure white, and 

 the breast very faintly spotted. 



Soft parts and measurements as in G. t. superflua. 



Adult female similar to the male, but rather smaller. 



