ALAUDIU.i: — TlIK LARKS. 1;;. 



Family ALAUDIDjE. — The Lakks. 



Chah. First piuiiiiiv vfiv short or waiitinj^r. Tarsi sculcllatt' anteriorly aiul posteriorly, 

 witli the i>hilfs nearly of eorrespoijiliuf^ position and number. Ilin.l claw very long 

 and nearly straij,'ht. iJill short, conieal, frontal feathers extendinj; alonj,' side of the hill; 

 the nostrils concealed hy a tuft of bristly feathers directed forward. Tcrtials greatly 

 elongate beyond the secondaries. 



Subfamilies and Oenera. 



Alaudinae. Bill stout, short, and conical ; nasal Ibssii; transverse and ctjuipletely 

 tilled l>y the thi-.-k tuft of l>ristly feathers, and perforated anteriorly by a circtdar 

 nasal opening. (Old and New World.) 



Crown with a depressed soft crest of feathers, of normal structure; a spu- 

 rious prunary ; tail deeply emarginate ....... Ahiuda. 



Crown without a crest, but occiput with an ere<'tile tuft of narrow elon- 

 gated feathers on each side. No spurious primary ; tail square, or slightly 

 numdetl ............ I'^remophila. 



Calandritinae. Bill broader, more depressed, and straighter at the base ; nasal 

 Ibsjsai longitudinal, large, elongated, the nasal opening rather linear. (Old World.) 



Of the Alavdida only the two genera diagnosed ahove belong to the 

 American continent ; and one of them is properly only a wanderer from the 

 Old World, while the other is cosmopolitan. 



The most characteristic feature of tlie Larks among other oscine families 

 is seen in the scutellation ol" the tarsus. The anterior half of this is cov- 

 ered by divided scales lapping round on the sides, but instead of tlie two 

 plates which go one on each side of the posterior half and unite ultimately 

 behind as an acute ridge, there is but one which laps round on the sides, 

 and is divided into scales like the anterior ones, but alternating with tliem. 

 The posterior edge of the tarsus is as obtuse as the anterior, instead of 

 being very acute. There is a deep separating groove on the inner side of the 

 tarsus ; and there may be really but one plate divided transversely, the edges 

 meeting at tliis place. 



In the elongated hind claw and lengthened tertials, general style of color- 

 ation, mode of life, and manner of nesting, there is a decided approximation 

 in the Ahiudidm to the Anthinrr, of the family MotaciUidw ; but in these 

 the posterior edge of the tarsus is sharp and imdivided transversely, the toes 

 more deeply cleft, the bill more slender, etc., — their relations being rather 

 nearer to the /%/27 ico/ic?a.' than to the present family. 



Genus ALAUDA, Linn. 



\ ^Zawrfa, Lixx. S. N. 1735. 



Gen. Char. Bill very small, less than half the length of the head, conical ; nostrili* 

 exposed ; rictal bristles quite strong ; commissure without notch ; tarsus much longer 



