234 BIRDS. GHANI VOILE. 



A. pratensis, Bechst. Plumage above dark oil green, with the cen- 

 tre of the feathers brownish black ; under parts yellowish white, 

 with blackish brown upon the sides of the neck and breast ; 

 tail blackish brown, the outer feather with the exterior web 

 and tip white ; hind claw longer than the toe. 51 inches long. 

 Inhabits Europe. B. Selby, Illust. pi. 49, fig. 4. 



A. arboreus, Bechst. (Alauda, Lin.) Tree Pipit. Plumage green- 

 ish above, with the centre of the feathers brownish black ; wing- 

 coverts margined with yellowish white ; under parts whitish, spot- 

 ted with brown ; exterior tail-feathers white ; hind claw short 

 and curved. 5^ inches long. Europe. B. Selby, Illust. pi. 49, fig. 5. 



A, Capensis, Tern. Plumage brown above ; throat yellow, margined 

 with black ; eyebrows yellow ; three lateral tail-feathers white 

 at the tips. 8 inches long. Inhabits Africa Shaw, x. 510. 



ORDER IV. GRANIVOROUS BIRDS. Granworae. 



Bill more or less conical, short and strong ; ridge more or less 

 flattened, advancing upon the forehead ; mandibles gene- 

 rally without notches; three toes before and one behind, 

 the anterior ones entirely divided ; wings of medium length. 



The food of this order consists chiefly of grain and other seeds, which the strength 

 and form of their bill enables them to free from the exterior husk ; but during the 

 season of rearing their young, insects and larvae form their chief support. They 

 live in pairs, and are sedentary or migratory, according to the temperature of the 

 countries they inhabit. In winter, or at the period of their migration, they congre- 

 gate in numerous flocks. Most of the European species moult only once in the 

 year. They are very easily tamed ; and the males during the pairing season assume 

 a brighter and more varied plumage. 



Gen. 1. ALAUDA, Lin. 



Bill subconic, short, with the mandibles of equal length arid 

 the upper one slightly convex ; nostrils basal, lateral, partly 

 concealed by reflected feathers ; claw of the hind toe much 

 produced, and nearly straight; wings with the first quill 

 short or wanting, the third the longest ; coronal feathers 

 generally produced, and capable of erection. 



This genus inhabits open fields or plains. They feed chiefly on seeds and grains, 

 though they occasionally take worms and insects. They make their nests on the 

 ground, and sing during their perpendicular ascent in the air. 



A. Tartarica, Pall. Head, neck, lower parts, and tail deep black ; 

 feathers of the neck below, rump, and flanks black in the mid- 

 dle, bordered and terminated by whitish ; legs and claws black ; 

 the hind claw longer than the* toe. 7J inches long. Inhabits 

 Asia. Tern. Man. 275. 



A. calandra, Lin. Plumage above reddish ash-coloured ; throat and 

 belly white ; a black spot on each side of the neck ; lanceolate 



