902 Mr. J. D. D. L;i Touclie on the [Ibis, 



above, tlie featliers of the crown, upper parts, wings, and 

 tail are blackish brown, narrowly edged on the (;rown and 

 upper parts with rather dark greyish sandy. The breast is 

 heavily marked with large spots. Wing, (^ 4" 10 to 430 in., 

 ? 3-85 to 4-00 in. 



135. Alaudula minor cheleensis (Swinhoe). 



Calandrella cheleensis D. & O. p. 317. 



Alaudula cheleensis La T. p. 575. 



The North China Sand-Lark breeds abundantly on the 

 plain and on the stony reaches of tlie Shih Ho. I do not 

 know that any winter, but flocks travel past with the Skylarks 

 in autumn. As mentioned above, great numbers passed with 

 the Mongolian Larks in Novemher 1914. 1 i'onnd a frozen 

 migr;int on the breakwater here on the 12th of February, 

 1911, and that month numbers winch had evidently just 

 arrived wej'e seen on the plain. Breeding; takes place during 

 A[)ril and May. * Two ne.sts were found by my children on 

 the 16th of May at the marshes. Each contained three eggs, 

 the full clutch. 1'he nests were built in small depressions in 

 the ground on the plain. Two others found at the port 

 weie on the sand-hills on the 6th of May, and contained 

 respectively one and two eggs. Another nest seen by me on 

 the 2nd of May was sunk deep in the sandy soil in the dry 

 stony bed of the Shili Ho and contained two eggs. The nests 

 are made of scraps of grasses and fine rootlets. They are 

 very fragile and generally come to pieces on being removed. 

 The eggs are three in number. The ground-colour is a 

 yellowish or greenish white. The markings are pale yellow- 

 ish or clayish brown with lilac-grey shell-specks, the latter 

 forming a more or less broad zone round the larger end. 

 A clutch taken on 24 April, 1915, measures 0'77xO'56in. 

 (two eggs) and 078 X 0*56 in. Another, kindly measured 

 for me at tlie British Museum by Mr. ('. B. Kickett, measures 

 (in millimetres) 20 x 16 and 21 x 16 (two eggs). 



136. Calandrella brachydactyla (Leisl.). 



Calandrella brachydactyla D. & O. p. 318 ; La T. p. 575. 



My collectors met on the 19th and 27th of April, 1913, 



