Vol. xli.] 68 



and Dr. Weioold, Dr. Hartert and I have been able to 

 compare two specimens of the form described as ^. a. taiti 

 and two A. a. sierrce, while a third specimen o£ the latter is 

 in the Trino; Museum. All these I exhibit here to-night. 

 Dr. Weigold obtained three specimens of A. a. sierrce, but he 

 does not state how many of A. a. taiti. He says that A. a. taiti 

 is browner on the breast, darker and browner on the upper 

 parts, and longer in the bill than A. a. sierrce. Dr. Hartert 

 and I have very carefully examined these birds and we 

 cannot see these differences ; in fact, in one A. a. taiti the 

 bill is shorter than in either A. a. sierrce. All these birds 

 compare exactly with a series of seven. breeding Skylarks 

 obtained by Mr. Tait and myself at about 5000 feet, on the 

 Serra da Estrella, a little to the north of the Tagus, in 

 May 1920. They are nearest A. a. rantarella, but rather 

 blacker on the upper parts ; the wing and tail average 

 smaller and the bill usually slightly longer. The measure- 

 ments are as follows : — 



Wiuff. Tail. Bill. 



5 c? 6. Serra da E.strella 109-112 65-72 14-15-5 



2 $ $ . Do. 98-107 03-65 14-5-15 



1 J . Tagus {A. a. taiti) 105 65 15-5 



1 2 . Do. 98 58 14 



2 $ $ . Sierra Nevada {A. a. sierrce) . . 102-108 63-64 14-5-15 

 1 no sex. Do. ^Tring coll.) . . 100 61 15-5 



If the view is accepted that these birds are the same tliey 

 must be called u-i. a. sierra', as that name appears first on 

 page 124, Orn. Monats. 1913. 



The Skvlark is a very local breeding bird in the Spanish 

 Peninsula. We saw one on a moor at Abrantes, on the 

 Tagus, but this I was unable to obtain. At the end of May, 

 at Bom Jesus (about 1500 ft.), near Braga, north of Oporto, 

 my wife and I found a considerable number breeding, and 

 these are very different from the more southern birds de- 

 scribed above. They have considerably longer bills, a 

 greater amount of black on the upper parts and wings, they 

 are more tinged with tawny brown, and not so grey on the 

 feather-edges, es])ecially on the rump, while the streaks on 



