ALAUDID^ PYRRHULAUDA 195 



wings and tail black ; centre of breast and abdomen black ; rest of 

 under surface buff, the sides streaked with black. 



Length 4-50 ; wing 3'00 ; tail 1-70. 



Distribution. Northern and Eastern Cape Colony ; common 

 in the valley of the Orange Eiver and near Colesberg, Beaufort West 

 and King William's Town. Natal and the Orange Free State, 

 ranging into the Transvaal and across Bechuanaland to Damara 

 Land. 



Habits. Similar to those of P. verticalis. Mr. T. Ayres met 

 with this species, when breeding, in the Transvaal. He writes as 

 follows : "I found two nests of this bird, one in March the other in 

 April; each nest contained only two eggs which, in one instance, 

 were somewhat incubated. One of these nests I found at Mamusa, 

 on the Hartz Eiver, the other near Bloemhoff, on a tributary of the 

 Vaal Eiver. The nest of this species is placed on the ground under 

 shelter of a clump of weed or grass. It is roughly constructed of 

 coarse grass, slightly lined with fine roots ; both the nests which I 

 found were situated within twenty yards of water. The egg is 

 white, much spotted with light sepia-brown." 



107. Pyrrhulauda verticalis. Grey-backed Lark. 



s~- 



Megalotis verticalis, Smith, Eep. Exp. Centr. Afr. p. 48 (1836). 

 Pyrrhulauda verticalis, Smith, III. ZooL, 8. Afr. Aves, pi. 25 (1839) ; 



Layard, B. S. Afr. p. 210 (1867) ; Gurney, in Anderssoris B. 



Damara Land, p. 190 (1872); Sharpe, ed. Layard's.B. 8. Afr. 



p. 492 (1884) ; id. Cat. B. M. xiii, p. 656 (1890) ; Shelley, B. Afr. i, 



p. 17 (1896). 



Description. Adult male. Above, ashy-grey mottled with brown ; 

 crown black ; lores and anterior half of cheeks, throat and under 

 surface blackish-brown ; centre of occiput, ear-coverts and nape of 

 neck white ; behind the white nape a black collar which joins the 

 black of the sides of neck to the black under surface of body ; wing- 

 coverts brown edged with grey ; quills dark brown edged with grey ; 

 two centre tail-feathers pale brown edged with white ; rest of tail- 

 feathers dark brown edged with grey, the outermost feather white 

 with a patch of brown at the base of the inner web. 



Iris dark brown ; bill horn-coloured ; legs and feet dark flesh- 

 colour. 



Length 4-90; wing 3-15; tail 1-90; tarsus 0-75 ; culmen 0-50. 



\ TA. ?o^ - 



