1874.] LARKS OF SOUTHERN AFRICA. 639 



Megalophonus apiatus, Bp. Consp. i. p. 244 (1850); Layard, 

 B. S. Afr. p. 215 (1867); Gray, Hand-1. B. ii. p. 122 (1870). 



Adult. Above cindery grey, with concealed bars of cinnamon 

 rufous and black on most of the dorsal feathers, as well as all the 

 wing-coverts ; head uniform with back, much crested, the feathers 

 blackish in the centre of the plumes, which are also minutely spotted 

 with rufous ; hind neck cindery grey, separating the head from the 

 back ; quills dark brown, margined with rufous, the inner secondaries 

 with grey like the back, the innermost washed with rufous and 

 crossed with narrow transverse black lines ; tail dark brown washed 

 with cindery grey, and tipped with white, the outermost feather 

 broadly edged with fulvous extending over a great portion of the 

 inner web obliquely towards the tip, the centre feathers slightly 

 washed with rufous and minutely barred with blackish in an irre- 

 gular manner, besides a few spots of the latter here and there ; loral 

 feathers minutely tipped with white, and behind the eye a small 

 streak of buffy white ; ear-coverts light rufous, inclining to blackish 

 on their hinder margin ; rest of the sides of the face light fulvous 

 thickly speckled with blackish ; throat whitish, with a few scattered 

 spots of blackish brown ; rest of under surface ashy fulvous, the 

 feathers being all broadly margined with this colour, and thus 

 obscuring the pale fawn-colour of their bases, the breast thickly 

 spotted with large triangular marks of dark brown, and on the 

 flanks a few narrow lines of dark brown ; the under tail-coverts 

 minutely spotted with dark brown ; under wing-coverts fawn-colour, 

 except the outermost, which are washed with ashy brown, like the 

 greater series and the entire inner lining of the wing. Total length 

 5 inches, culmen # 55, wing 3*0, tail 2'2, tarsus l'O. 



Hab. Confined to the Cape colony. 



The full-plumaged specimens before me of this Lark have not 

 their dates of capture attached ; but I believe that I have both winter 

 and summer plumages represented, thus disposing of the idea that 

 M. apiata can be the winter plumage of M. rufipilea. I therefore 

 append short comparative characters of the two states, the specimen 

 described being in what I consider full winter dress. 



Summer plumage. Winter plumage. 



Upper surface dark brown, the Upper surface grey, the rufous 



rufous obscure and the grey colour in broad and half-concealed 



shade strongly marked only on bands, 

 the lower back and secondaries. 



Head dark brown, with scarcely Head entirely grey, mottled 



any grey shade or rufous mark- with blackish centres to the 



ings. feathers, and slightly washed 



here and there with rufous. 



Hind neck scarcely lighter than Hind neck very clear grey, 



the head or back. paler than head or back. 



Wing-coverts ending in a ru- Wing-coverts with a broad 



fous tint, with no perceptible whitish grey margin, 

 grey margin. 



