observed in the Vicinity of Wti Hai Wei. Q>7\ 



and desert-like, but those that come down on migration in 

 September are often much darker. 



These Larks never seem to breed down on the sandy flats, 

 wliere the nests of Calandrellu pispoletta are so abundant, but 

 always in the fields and on the banks between them. Usually 

 the birds are to be seen in small parties, but they are also 

 found in pairs, and singly. 



Eggs are laid from May 13th to July 1st, the majority in 

 May, and three or four is the usual complement of a clutch : 

 five are found occasionally. The eggs of this species taken 

 in Shantung seem to fall into two well-marked types ; in 

 one there are fairly well-defined markings of green or brown 

 on a greenish-white ground, and in the other there are 

 small markings, thickly scattered on a bluish-white ground. 

 In the first-named type the general impression is of a 

 greenish, and in the second of a greyish-white colour. 



Forty eggs from Shantung average '86 x "66 inch, and vary 

 in length from '94' to *73 and in width from '69 to •59. 



Calandrella pispoletta. 



During the summer months Pallas's Desert-Lark abounds 

 on the Shantung littoral. The sandy flats which in so many 

 parts of the coast separate the hills and the cultivated land 

 fi'om the sea provide these little Larks with conditions 

 admirably suited to all their breeding requirements. On the 

 flats between Wei Hai Wei and Chefoo one may, with the 

 assistance of the small Chinese boys, who are sent out to 

 rake up grass, easily examine a hundred or more nests in 

 the course of a day. 



The nest of this species is of the flimsiest construction in 

 most cases, and often does not even contain any proper 

 lining. Frequently the bottom of the nest is formed by the 

 sand alone, and sometimes it is nothing more than a horse- 

 shoe-shaped mass of grass, the space between the ends being 

 filled by a lump of sandy material or a stone. Some nests, 

 on the other hand, are well sunk into the sand, and some are 

 built up on the side of a small hillock and have quite good 

 bases and grass or hair linings. 



