212 BIRDS OF SOUTH AFRICA. 



425. Alauda Erythronotus, steph. ; Zooi. s. 



Af, PL 110, fig. 2 ; Brachonyx Pyrrhonotha, Smith ; 

 Z. S. A., PL 11 0, f. 2. 



BACK of the neck and back, rufescent, variegated with brown ; 

 throat and breast white, the latter streaked with brown ; 

 belly, flanks, and vent, rusty buff- orange ; wing- feathers 

 brown, margined with rufous; scapulars rusty orange-brown, 

 edged with white, and barred with liver-brown ; tail-feathers 

 umber-brown, the outer vanes and tips edged with pale 

 rufous, the two middle feathers rusty reddish-orange, barred 

 with liver-brown. 



I very much doubt the identity of the bird described by Dr. Smith, 

 loc. cit., with the " Alouette a dos Koux " of Le Vaillaut, as Dr. Smith 

 believes ; and my doubts are confirmed by Sundevall. See his review 

 of LeVaillant's birds. 



426. Megalophonus Oinereus, vieii ; 



drella Ruficeps, Brehm ; La Petite Alouette d Tdte 

 Rousse, Le Vail., No. 199. 



GENERAL colour above, brown, the edge of each feather being 

 ashy ; top of head and sides of breast, bright rufous ; throat, 

 chest, belly, and under tail-coverts, white ; wing-feathers 

 brown, the outer one with the outer web white ; tail brown, 

 with the edges of the two central feathers the colour of the 

 back. In some specimens the throat and breast is sparsely 

 freckled with brown. In a variety received from Colesberg, 

 the whole bird is brighter coloured, the red of the head and 

 breast more vivid, the whites purer, and the ash colour of the 

 back and centre tail-feathers charged with ruddy tinge ; 

 iris hair-brown. Length, 6" ; wing, 4" ; tail, 3" 2'". 



The red-headed, lark is common throughout the colony, affecting, 

 however, some spots in preference to others ; for instance, just on the 

 top of the little hill before reaching Mowbray, on the high-road from 

 Cape Town, a few pair may always be found dusting themselves ; yet a 

 mile on each side the species is not often found. 



It feeds on insects and seeds, builds a nest on the ground by a tuft 

 of grass, and lays three to five eggs, of a cream colour, profusely 

 speckled with brown and purple : axis, II" 7 ; diam., 8'". 



427. Megalophonus Rostratus, Harti.; ibis 



Vol., 1863, p. 326. 



ABOVE, fulvous-brown, with blackish markings ; back and 

 neck pale rufous, striped with black ; top of head rufous, 

 marked in the same manner ; below fulvous ; throat longi- 

 tudinally marked with black ; chin white ; under side of 



