396 CALANDRELLA 



flanks washed with, brown and striped with darker brown ; beak dull 

 horn, paler at the base below ; legs pale brown ; iris dark brown. Cul- 

 men 0'5, wing 3*85, tail 2'5, tarsus 0'85, hind toe with claw 0'6 inch. 



Hob. Asia Minor, S. Russia, Persia, Afghanistan, the Punjab, 

 east to China. 



Inhabits the desert portions of the steppes where it is 

 numerous, and in general habits is said to resemble C. brachy- 

 dactyla. I do not find any description of its song except that 

 it is said to be of a high order. Its food, like that of its 

 congeners, consists of seeds of various kinds and of insects. 

 Its nest is loosely constructed of dry grass bents without any 

 regular lining, and is placed on the ground. The eggs, usually 

 3 in number, are deposited in April or May, and resemble those 

 of C. brachydactyla but are a trifle larger, have a clearer and 

 paler ground colour, and the spots are rather darker and more 

 clearly defined. 



564. PALE SHORT-TOED LARK. 

 CALANDRELLA LEUCOPH^A. 



Calandrella leucopficea, Severtz. Turk. Jevot. p. 142 (1873) ; Dresser, 

 iv. p. 343; (Sharpe), Cat. B. Br. Mus. xiii. p. 593; Alaudula 

 seebohmi, Sharpe, torn. cit. p. 590 (1890). 



ad. (Turkestan). Differs from C. pispoletta in having the upper 

 parts sandy grey, somewhat indistinctly striped with pale brown, and the 

 underparts white, the breast faintly striped with pale brown. Culmen 0'45, 

 wing 3'85, tail 2 '65, tarsus 0'8 inch. 



Hal}. The Kirghis steppes and Turkestan, east to Mongolia ; 

 in India it is replaced by a nearly allied species, Calandrella or 

 Alaudula adamsi Hume, which is smaller and has a pro- 

 portionately smaller beak. 



In habits it appears to resemble C. pispoletta, except that it 

 affects sandy desert localities in preference to cultivated and 

 fertile ground. Its nest and eggs are as yet unknown, but will 

 doubtless be found to resemble those of C. adamsi which builds 

 a nest on the ground like that of Corydus cristatus but smaller, 

 and deposits 2 to 3 eggs dull white spotted and mottled with 

 pale greenish brown. 



Alaudula seebohmi, I may add, is usually slightly more rufous 

 in tinge than specimens from Turkestan, but some specimens 

 are greyer than others, and I cannot separate it from the 

 present species. 



