Mr. R. B. Sliarpe on the Alaiida bimaculata. 179 



These jcan only he referable to NummuUna. Soldani's 

 sketches, g, h, indicating the natural size, are as large as our 

 outlines ; and his other tigures show some of the characters of 

 NummuUna exponens. 



96. Soldania nitida, D'Orb. PL XIL fig. 134. 



Soldaui, Testae, vol. i. pt. 2. p. 151, pi. 135. fig. /. D'Orb. op. cit. p. 281. 

 no. 3. 



'■^ Hob. Fossil at Coroncina." (Fossil at Clusenti, >S'oZf?am*.) 



If D'Orbigny found the exact counterpart of this, it was 

 curious ; and if he did not, why he should have chosen a 

 drawing of a quite indeterminable fragment as the foundation 

 of a species, we cannot tell. Soldani explicitly states that the 

 figure does but represent a section : — " Alteram [/] est Ham- 

 monia, sive potius Nautilus dimidiatus." It may possibly be 

 a fragment of a PlanorhuUna ; beyond this we can offer no 

 suggestion. 



[To be continued.] 



XIX. — On the Alauda bimaculata of Menetries. By R. B. 

 Sharpe, F.L.S. &c., Librarian to the Zoological Society of 

 London. 



Through the kindness of Canon Tristram and other friends, 

 I have had a large series of Calandra Larks submitted to me 

 lately, with a view to identify the species which belong to the 

 European fauna. Hitherto only one species has been admitted 

 as Em'opean, viz. the ordinary Calandra Lark, Melanocorypha 

 calandra (L.) ; but Dr. Tristram, writing in ' The Ibis ' for 

 1868 (p. 208), remarks, in the course of his essay on the 

 Ornithology of Palestine : — 



" Before concluding these notes on the Passerine birds of 

 Palestine, I must state that, on going through my collection 

 recently, in company with the editor of this Journal, we were 

 satisfied that the Calandra Lark of Mount Hermon and Le- 

 banon must be distinguished from the common Calandra of 

 the plains and of Southern Europe. It is smaller and more 

 slender, with a very decided rufous tint on the whole of its 

 plumage ; but especially the outer rectrices are without any 

 white, while in the true M. calandra (L.) the outer tail-feathers 

 are wholly white. But before describing the species as new, 

 I am anxious to have an opportunity of examining Persian 

 and Affghan specimens." 



I am indebted t(j the reverend gentleman for the loan of the 

 specimens on which the above remarks were founded, and I 



13* 



