146 THE SPARROWS, BUNTINGS AND LARKS. 



There are two other species of Larks found through- 

 out the Presidency, which may easily be confounded 

 with the true Skylark. The chief difference is that 

 they have both a sharp-pointed crest rising from the 

 crown of the head. Jerdon calls one of them the 

 Malabar Crested Lark (Alauda malabarica] and the 

 other the Small Crested Lark (Spisalauda devd). 



They both soar and sing, but I am ashamed to say 

 that I know very little about their song, or I should 

 be ashamed if I had not noticed that Jerdon and 

 Barnes and Gates all seem to avoid saying anything 

 definite on the subject, from which I infer that they 

 knew no more than I. The fact is that when the Lark 

 is singing it is generally out of sight, or too high up to 

 be distinguished clearly, so it is not easy to be sure 

 which species you are listening to. It seems to follow 

 that there cannot be a very marked difference in their 

 songs. The Small Crested Lark at any rate is very 

 highly esteemed by natives, especially Mahomedans, 

 both as a songster and a mimic. They keep it in a 

 very small cage, wrapped in folds of cloth which keep 

 out every ray of light. I suppose the idea is that a 

 hermit's cell is the nearest approach to heaven, but it 

 is a curious answer to Shelley's question 



What objects are the fountains 



Of thy happy strain, 

 What fields or waves or mountains, 



What shapes of sky or plain ? 



It succeeds. Withdrawn from all terrestrial distrac- 

 tions, the birds sing as they do when they are 

 " ringed with the azure world." 



Besides these we have two birds of the Lark tribe 

 which are not exactly Skylarks. They do not sing 



