200 



L'ASSELLS BOOK OF BIROS. 



a sandy yellow or grey, marked upon the throat by fine dark lines ; the black tail and wing feathers 

 are edged with reddish brown. 



We ourselves have met with these birds in all parts of the African Desert, even in the sandy 

 plains called by the Arabs Hammadas, or Red Lot ; indeed, such spots as these are selected by 

 preference, the little creatures seeming carefully to avoid the oases, or any districts that bear the 

 impress of cultivation, only leaving the burning wastes to wander unmolested through the ruined 

 temples of the Pharaohs, to which their dismal cry seems to lend an additional shade of gloom. In 

 their movements the Desert Larks exhibit an activity and adroitness that enables them to travel over 

 the loose sand upon which they live with surprising rapidity. Their disposition is quiet, and so 

 extremely engaging, as to cause them to be regarded by the Arabs with peculiar favour ; as to their 



the MOOR LARK [Sax'dauda Tataricd). 



requirements, they must certainly be numbered amongst the most easily satisfied of living creatures ;. 

 a little sand and a few stones are all they need to form a home, and should the locality selected 

 by a pair of Desert Larks afford them a few blades of coarse grass, their utmost desires are fulfilled. 

 Day after day you may visit the spot, and there they will be found perching upon the same stone, 

 apparently as happy and contented as birds can be. Early in the year they commence the labours 

 attendant upon incubation, concealing their nests with so much care amongst the stones, that all our 

 attempts to discover them have proved fruitless. Nothing can exceed the fearlessness with which 

 man is regarded by the Desert Lark ; it will frequently allow the approach of a stranger without the 

 slightest demonstration of alarm, having learned by experience that their attractive manners render 

 them safe at least from the pursuit of the Arab, if not of the naturalist. 



The BUNTING LARKS {Pyrrhidaudd) may be regarded as the dwarfs of the Lark family. 



