THE LARKS 



[ORDER : Pdsseriformes. FAMILY : Alaudidce] 

 PRELIMINARY CLASSIFIED NOTES 



[F. C. R. JOURDAIN. W. P. PYCRAFT. A. L. THOMSON] 



eld-lark, laverock. French, 



Page 199. For Alauda arvensis read Alauda arvensis arvensis -,- 7 j ? n 



ilian, lodola}. 



i. Description. The adult has the upper parts huffish brown striated 

 with dusky brown, the crest erectile, a pale buff superciliary stripe. The inner 

 secondaries and major coverts dark brown, with broad margins of paler brown : 

 median coverts with whitish free edges. Outermost (10th) primary vestigial, the 

 wing-quills dark brown, the outer web margined buff, and the tips greyish white. 

 The outer pair of tail feathers are white except for a narrow smoky brown stripe 

 along the inner margin of the inner web, the penultimate pair with a white outer 

 - web, a feature which suffices to distinguish this from the following species. Under- 

 parts pale buff, streaked with dark brown on the throat, prepectus, and flanks. 

 The hind claw longer than the toe itself. In flight the bird may be recognised by 

 the broad buff margin round the inner side of the pointed wings. (PL 23.) Sexes 

 almost indistinguishable, the hen being usually smaller and shorter hi the wing. 

 Length 7 in. [178 mm.]. In autumn the newly moulted plumage differs from that 

 of the spring only in being rather more tawny. The young, before the first moult, 

 differ markedly in the " scaly" appearance of the upper surface, caused by conical 

 patches of black and small semicircles of buffish white on an ochraceous ground 

 colour, while the wings inner primaries and secondaries have broad longitu- 

 dinal bands of buff and black. The fore-neck has a yellowish tinge, and each 

 feather has a central area of dark grey forming a spot at the feather tip. The 

 flanks are greyish, and faintly spotted. On the scapulars the black area is reduced 

 to a horse-shoe band bounded externally with creamy white. The secondaries are 

 brownish grey with a narrow line of black along the outer web, bounded 

 externally with dull brown, the innermost secondaries have black shaft-streaks, 



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