ALAUDIX^E ALAUDA. 173 



Ear large, roundish. Head oblong, of moderate size ; neck 

 rather short ; body rather full. Feet of ordinary length ; 

 tarsus slender, compressed, with eight or nine anterior scu- 

 tella ; toes five, slender, the first stout, the second slightly 

 longer than the fourth ; the hind claw extremely long, being 

 about double the length of the first joint, very slightly arched, 

 much compressed, slender, acute. Plumage ordinary ; fea- 

 thers on the upper part of the head rather long ; bristles at 

 the base of the bill ; wings long, broad, of eighteen quills, 

 the first minute, the next three longest ; the inner seconda- 

 ries elongated ; tail rather long, straight, deeply emarginate. 

 The genus Alauda, most intimately allied to Anthus, passes 

 into Plectrophanes, which belongs to the Buntings, and has 

 various other affinities. The Larks are generally distributed 

 on the Old Continent, and one species occurs in the northern 

 parts of both. They prefer open places, search the fields and 

 pastures for worms, larvae, insects, and seeds. In winter 

 they are chiefly granivorous, and their gizzard is more mus- 

 cular than that of any other birds of the order to which they 

 belong. They nestle on the ground, lay from four to six 

 spotted eggs, and feed their young with worms and insects. 

 Some of the species are remarkable for the variety of their 

 notes and the prolongation of their song. Three species oc- 

 cur with us, but of these one is merely a straggler. 



103. ALAUDA ARVENSIS. SKY LARK. 



Upper parts light reddish-brown, streaked with blackish- 

 brown ; fore neck light reddish-brown, spotted with brownish- 

 black, the sides streaked, the rest of the lower parts dull 

 white ; an obscure brownish- white band over the eye ; the 

 first quill extremely small and acute, the second longest ; 

 quills chocolate-brown, tail-feathers darker, the outer with 

 most of its outer web and an oblique portion of the inner white, 

 as is the greater part of 'the outer web of the next. Young 

 with all the feathers of the upper parts dusky, tipped and mar- 

 gined with light yellowish-grey. 



Male, 7 T V, 14|, 4}, ft, I, T V, T V Female, 6|$, 13. 



Perhaps none of our native birds has attracted more notice 

 than the Sky Lark, on account of its being generally distributed, 

 and rendering itself conspicuous by its habit of rising, with a 

 fluttering and somewhat spiral motion, to a great height in the 

 air while performing its delightful song, which is protracted 



