THE LARKS. 109" 



nature, two of the innermost feathers of the wings were 

 white, forming a V-shaped mark on the bird's back 

 when the wings were closed. 



The last winter I was in India (1902) I did not see 

 it, but there was another bird of the same kind in the old 

 haunt ; large as the tank is, about sixty yards across in 

 the narrowest part, I never saw more than one there. 



Many of this species breed at elevations of over six 

 thousand feet in the Himalayas ; I have seen it at 

 Kurseong in spring in full wedding-dress. It breeds 

 in May or June, building its nest under a stone or 

 in a bush, of fibres and moss. There are generally five 

 eggs, of a dirty white speckled with yellowish-brown. 



In confinement this bird has bred with the English Pied 

 Wagtail, and the hybrids even proved capable of breeding 

 again. 



THE] LARKS. 



Larks are rather small birds of dull drab or sandy 

 plumage, usually with darker streaks ; their bills vary in 

 shape in a manner unusual among species of the same 

 family, some being short and thick, and others long and 

 thin ; nevertheless there is something about a Lark which 

 makes it easily recognizable. Their wings are large 

 and their tails rather short ; the hinder toe usually bears 

 a long straight claw, and the back of the shank is covered 

 with small separate scales like the front. This last point 

 will distinguish the Larks from the Pipits, which also 

 have a brown streaky plumage and a long hind claw, 

 and are often called Titlarks ; but they have the back 



