THE LARKS. Ill 



baskets ! Something ought to be done, by the way, to 

 stop the cruelty of these men in keeping the poor little 

 birds in a famished condition ; not even water being 

 supplied them, while they are also very roughly handled, 

 all the quill feathers of one wing being pulled out to 

 prevent their escape. 



The natives are very fond of keeping various Larks 

 as cage-birds, and have separate names for the different 

 species ; but curiously enough, the Skylark, so popular at 

 home, does not seem a favourite with fanciers in India. 



Larks will do well and live long in cages, and will of 

 course thrive well in an aviary also. Not more than a 

 pair of each species should be put in an aviary, as the 

 cocks are very quarrelsome. On account of their 

 omnivorous habits, they are easy to keep ; in captivity 

 they take to perching a great deal, if in a small aviary, 

 but not in a large one. They have seldom been bred in 

 confinement. As Larks, although common, are not 

 usually garden birds, and are not very interesting in 

 an aviary as a rule, I shall only notice one species 

 which is particularly desirable. 



THE CRESTED LARK (Galerida cristaia) is well known 

 to the natives under the name of Chendool. There is 

 nothing very distinctive about its plumage, which is light 

 brown above and creamy-white below, with darker 

 streaks, most strongly marked on the breast ; but it can 

 easily be distinguished from other Larks by its narrow 

 crest of a few long feathers, and by its long thin bill, 

 this being not unlike that of a bird of the Thrush 

 family, but rather longer. The tail is rather short, and 



