ALA 



ALB 



me brown. It lays four or 



lich arc dusky and blotched 



with deep brown; its fecund', t\ i.> ',nf< r'or 



of the sky-l.-trk, and its numbers 

 are not so great: it breeds earlier, since 

 -mo-times flown in the 

 middle of March, an. I then-fore they pair 

 in February, at which time, and not be- 

 fore, they part with their last \ car's 

 brood; whereas the common lark does 

 not hatch before the month of May. This 



\ te ruler and delicate bird; so that 

 it is impossible to rear the young taken 

 out of the nest: but this is the case only 

 in England and such cold climates, for 

 in ltly they are removed from the nest, 

 and reared at first like the nightingale, 

 and afterwards ted upon panic and millet. 

 The wood-lark feeds on beetles, caterpil- 

 lars, and seeds: its tongue is forked; its 

 stomach muscular and fleshy; and it has 

 no craw, but a moderate dilatation of the 

 lower part of the oesophagus, and its cocca 

 are very small. It lives ten or t\\el\e 

 years. Tin- males are distinguished from 

 the females by their larger si/e ; the 

 rrown of the head is also of a darker co- 

 lour, ajid the hind nail longer; its breast 

 is more spotted, and its great wing-quills 

 edged with olive, which in the female is 

 grey. The wood-lark mounts high, war- 

 bling its notes, and hovering in the air; 

 it flies in flocks during the winter colds; 

 it is found in Sweden and Italy, and is 

 probably dispersed through the interve- 

 ning countries, and consequently over 

 the greatest part of Europe. It is also 

 found in Siberia, as far as Kamtsrhatka, 

 and likewise in the island of Madeira. 

 The best time for taking this bird for the 

 cage is July, or the preceding or follow- 

 ing month. Those that are put into the 

 cage at this time sing presently; but 

 their song-time is not lasting, for they 

 soon fall to moulting, in which state many 

 die; but if they get over it, they com- 

 monly prove very healthful afterwards, 

 in-come very tame and familiar, and sing 

 Mveetly. Those which are taken in the 

 Litter end of September are generally \v- 



ig and sprightly ; but they do not 

 sing till sitter Christmas. Those taken in 

 i-iiary finally prove the 

 : all ; they generally begin singing 

 in two or three days, or at the utmost in 

 !. after they are taken. The cock- 

 bird of this kind is knou n from the ln-n 

 1 iv the loudness and length of li 

 by his tidiness as he walks ahoi:' tli 

 ajid by his doublinghis notes in the veii- 

 '.ug, as if he were going witli lys mate 



to roost. A better rule than all othcj?;, 

 h-iwever, is his singing - 

 th<- hen wood-lark sings bin 

 weakly'. Roth the rock and hen of this 

 kind an- tender, and subject to many 

 disorders; the principal of these are, 

 rramps, giddiness of the head, and breed- 

 ing lice. Cleanliness is the best cure for 

 the first and the last of these complaints; 

 but we know of no cure for the other. .\ 

 good strong bird will last very well for 

 five or six years, and frequently improve 

 during the whole of this time. The lark 

 is not only a very agreeable bird for the 

 cage, but it will also live upon almost any 

 food, so that it have once a week a fresh 

 tuft of three-leaved grass put into the 

 cage with it. The wood-lark is one of 

 the sweetest of our singing-birds, aud is 

 indeed very little interior to the nightin- 

 gale, when in good health; but we are 

 not to judge by such as are made feeble 

 by improper food, or want of cleanliness 

 in their cages. 



ALBINOS, in zoology, a denomination 

 given to the white negroes of Africa, who 

 have light hair, blue eyes, and a white 

 body, resembling that of the Europeans, 

 when viewed at a distance ; but upon a 

 nearer approach, the whiteness is pale 

 and livid, like that of leprous persons, or 

 of a dead body. Their eyes are so weak 

 that they can hardly see any object in the 

 day, or bear the rays of the sun, ami yet, 

 when the moon shines, they see as well, 

 and nin through the deepest shades of 

 their forests with as much ease and ac- 

 tivity, as other men do in the brightest 

 day-light. Their complexion is delicate ; 

 they are lese robust and vigorous than 

 other men; they generally sleep in the 

 day, and go abroad in the night. The 

 negroes regard them as mongers, and w ill 

 not allow them to propagate their kind. 

 In Africa this variety of the human spe- 

 cies very frequently occurs. \\ afer in- 

 forms us, that there are white Indians of 

 the same general character among the 

 yellow or Copper-Coloured Indians of the 

 isthmus of Durien. It has been a subject 

 of inquiry, whether these men form a pe- 

 culiar and distinct race, ami a permanent 

 variety of the him. an species, or are 

 merely individuals who have accidcnth 

 degeiier.it'-d from their original 

 BufToo iiiclin'-s to the latter opinion, and 

 he alleges in proof of it, that in tl 

 inns ! ; u husband and wife, 



both of a copper colour, produced one 

 of these \vhhc children ;.so tlia< the singu- 

 lar colour and constitutionoftlie.se hite 



H 



