THE LARKS. 83 



secondary t/ui/ls white, with a black base ; crown of head rusty- 

 ied; lores and eyebrow creamy white; ear-coverts rusty-red, 

 the fore part white ; under surface of body white, with a tinge 

 of tawny colour on the thighs and sides of the breast, with a 

 few dusky spots on the sides of the throat and fore-neck ; sides 

 of body streaked with dark brown ; axillaries and under wing- 

 coverts white. Total length, 7 inches; culmen, 0*55; wing, 

 47 ; tail, 2^5 ; tarsus, 0*9. 



Adult Female. Lacks the rufous crown, the head and ear- 

 coverts being ashy brown, streaked with black like the back ; 

 the sides of face and throat more distinctly spotted with 

 black than in the male. Total length, 6'8 inches; wing, 

 4'8. 



Range in Great Britain. An accidental visitor, one specimen 

 having been caught near Brighton in November, 1869. 



Raage outside the British Islands. An inhabitant of Central and 

 Southern Russia, as far east as Central Asia, the Altai Moun- 

 tains, and the Irtisch river. In winter it wanders occasionally 

 west to Poland and Galicia, and has been procured in Heligo- 

 land, in Belgium, and in Northern Italy. 



Habits. In its native haunts it is a bird of the grassy and 

 open districts, is said to be by no means shy, and has a song 

 very like that of the Sky-Lark. Like the latter bird, it also 

 ascends into the air for a short distance and sings during the 

 breeding season. In the autumn these Larks collect in 

 flocks. 



Nest. Built in a little cavity on the ground under a tuft of 

 herbage or beneath a little bush, and is said to be made of 

 grass. 



Eggs. Four or five in number. Ground-colour clay-white 

 or greenish-white spotted all over with brown, with underlying 

 spots of grey. Axis, 0-95 inch ; diam., 0*65. 



THE SKY-LARKS. GENUS ALAUDA. 

 Alauda, Linn., Syst. Nat, L, p. 287 (1766). 



Type, A. arvensls y Linn. 



The Sky-Larks are familiar birds and favourites in every 

 country where they are found, and are in as much request as 



G a 



