84 



FOREIGN BIRDS FOR CAGE AND AVIARY. 



for it simply squabs, in general, close to the ground, and 

 does not hide itself. It frequently perches on shrubs, 

 or even on trees, and takes short flights in the air, 

 descending again with outspread wings. It breeds on 

 the ground, making a loose nest of grass under the 

 shelter of a bush or tuft of grass, and lays three or four 

 eggs, greenish-grey, with spots and stains of brown, and 

 dusky. It has a pleasant little song, which it utters 

 during its short flights, or occasionally from the 

 ground." 



Colonel Legge ("Birds of Ceylon," Vol. II., pp. 635, 

 636) gives the following account of its habits: "This 

 L:irk loves grassy Avastes studded with trees and bushes, 

 openly-timbered plains, scrubby enclosures, and dry pas- 

 ture-land surrounded by trees. It is also found' 

 in open spots in the heart of the jungle, and 

 round the borders of tanks and salt-water estua- 

 ries and lagoons. It is to some extent arboreal, 

 especially in the "breeding season, when the male 

 constantly mounts to the topmost branch of some 

 dead or scraggy tree, and pours out his little love-song, 

 launching himself out into the air, and descending 

 rapidly, 'with increasing fervour of note, to the vicinity 

 of the nest, where his partner is patiently performing 

 the duties of incubation. It is not gregarious, but 

 usually lives in pairs, several of which, however, occupy 

 contentedly the same locality, passing their time in 

 catching insects, and feeding likewise on grass-seeds, 

 varying the monotony of the noonday heat by now and 

 then flying up into the air or alighting on trees and 

 bushes, from 'which they give out their long-drawn sibi- 

 lant whistle T-seee-tseee-tseee. These Larks do not 

 mount to any height, nor do they remain any time in 

 the air. Their actions are Pipit-like, for after reaching 

 the altitude to which they wish to ascend they quickly 

 sail down again with upturned wings, continuing the 

 note they commenced with on leaving the ground until 

 they re-alight, when it is suddenly hushed. They often 

 descend to a low tree or bush, and sometimes continue 

 their notes for a few 'seconds. Mr. Ball remarks that 

 it is a very early bird, sometimes singing 'before dawn. 



" Nidifirafion. In the Western Province the Bush- 

 Lark breeds in May and June, and in the north some- 

 what earlier, commencing about March. It nests in a 

 Jittle depression in the ground, generally beneath the 

 shelter of a tuft of grass or tussock of rushes. It some- 

 times, however, in sandy soil excavates a hollow itself, 

 and therein, it constructs its nest. It is a loosely-made 

 cup of dry grass and fine roots of herbs, measuring 

 about Sin. wide by 2in. in depth ; the top is flush with 

 the surface of the soil, and over the nest the adjacent 

 blades of grass are bent or arranged so as to conceal it. 

 The- eggs are nearly always two in number, stumpy ovals 

 in shape, and of a greenish-white ground-colour, boldly 

 marked almost equally throughout with light umber- 

 brown and blackish-brown spots, the latter being simall 

 in some and large in other eggs. 



" The young become fledged very rapidly, flying in 

 about a fortnight from the time they are hatched. The 

 old birds are very zealous in their attempts to draw off 

 intruders from their young, running along the ground 

 with trailing wings, or feigning lameness or incapacity 

 to fly." 



This bird reached the London Zoological Gardens in 

 June, 1872. 



CRESTED LARK (Galerita cristata). 

 This widely-distributed Lark has appeared on pur 

 coasts often enough to 'be generally regarded as British, 

 and therefore I refer my readers to works on the birds 



of our islands in case they require information respect- 

 ing it. 



THICK-BILLED LARK (Calendula crassirostris). 



Above dark brown, the feathers bordered with sandy 

 buff ; lower back and rump more uniform, greyish- 

 brown, the lower back with a few mesial dark brown 

 streaks ; wing-coverts dark brown washed with greyish,, 

 ilie lesser and' median coverts bordered, and the greater 

 coverts more narrowly edged, with sandy buff, the latter 

 also with ashy edges; flights brown, the outer web nar- 

 rowly edged and tipped with bufnsh.-white ; secondaries 

 washed with grey ; upper tail-coverts greyish brown 

 washed with bumsii and with dark brown central 

 streaks on the longest feathers ; tail-feathers dark brown 

 edged with grey, the two outermost feathers edged and 

 tipped with buffish-white or buff ; head paler brown 

 than the back and with narrower da.rk streaks, the 

 hind neck more fulvous and minutely streaked ; a 

 streak along margin of crown, the lores and orbital 

 feathers buifish white ; cheeks of the same colour, but 

 dotted with black-brown ; ear-coverts dark brown 

 streaked' with buff ; under surface dull yellowish-white, 

 the throat .slightly spotted and the lower breast and 

 sides narrowly streaked with black-brown ; flanks 

 greyish brown with dark blown streaks ; under wing- 

 cc verts pale greyish brown edged with buffish white, 

 the outer feathers with brown spots; upper mandible 

 horn-colcur, lower buff shading into horn-colour towards 

 the tip ; feet pale brown ; irides brown. Female 

 similar, but smaller and with rather shorter wing. 

 Hab. , South Africa. 



Stark observes ("Birds of South Africa," Vol. I.,. 

 pp. 202, 203) : " The Thick-billed Lark is usually to be 

 met Avith on level or gently undulating ground and on 

 sandy soil with a scanty growtl- of bushes, occasion- 

 ally it may be seen on ploughed land. In Damara 

 Land, according to Andersson, ' it frequents localities 

 covered with grass and dwarf vegetation, and frequently 

 those of a rocky character.' 



" This Lark is nearly always in pairs ; it has a pro- 

 longed drawling call-note, and in spring a short song, 

 often uttered by the male as he rises for a short 

 distance on the wing; it feeds on seed's and insects,, 

 especially on small beetles. 



" About the middle of September, in Cape Colony,, 

 the female constructs her nest, of dry grass and horse- 

 hair, in a slight hollow scratched at the side of a grass- 

 tuft. Four or five eggs are laid towards the end of the- 

 month. They are pale cream-colour, more or less 

 spotted and mottled with various shades of purplish- 

 brown and grey. They measure 0.90 x 0.65." 



An example of this species was presented to the 

 London Zoological Society in April, 1867, and was 

 exhibited at the Gardens in Regent's Park ; it is pro- 

 bable that other specimens have since been imported. 



LICHTENSTEIN'S DESERT-LARK. 

 (Ammomanes deserti). 



Above isandy buff washed with vinaceous ; upper tail- 

 coverts more inclined to cinnamon ; wings pale brown ; 

 the coverts edged with rufescent buff, as 1 also the outer 

 margins of the secondaries and of all excepting the two 

 outer primaries ; tail brown, the outer edges of 

 the feathers and the outer webs of the two- 

 outermost pairs rufescent buff ; ear-coverts like the 

 upper surface ; rest of sides of head and upper neck and 

 the throat white ; rest of under surface of body sandy 

 buff, paler on abdomen ; a few indistinct brown spots 

 on the lower throat ; under wing-coverts and part of 



