45 

 ALAUDA PRATENSIS. 



Syst. Nat. 287. 



THE TITLARK. 



PLATE XLV. 



X he bill is slender, and of a dusky black ; the mouth 

 black within. The whole upper side of the bird, 

 from bill to tail, is a dull yellowish olive green ; each 

 feather being dark in the middle, and light round the 

 margin. The first quills are of a dusky olive black, 

 or black olive, edged with yellow olive ; the three 

 quills next the back are broad and long, reaching to 

 the end of the first quill feathers ; the covert feathers 

 of the wings are of the same colour, dusky in the 

 middle and bordered with yellow olive. The throat 

 is a pale ochre colour, and unspotted ; the breast is a 

 little darker, having numerous dusky spots tending 

 downwards. The belly and coverts under the tail are 

 of a dusky white. The legs and feet are dusky ; the 

 hind claw long, black, and very little curved. The 

 tail is long ; consisting of twelve feathers of the same 

 colour as the back, except the two outmost, which 

 have white margins. 



The Titlark is of a genteel and slender make ; his 

 song, though short, is pleasing ; and the display of his 

 wings and tail whilst singing, together with the line 

 which he describes in rising and falling, are truly 

 beautiful. 



