292 Capt. B. Alexander on the 
and secondaries are broadly edged with pale tawny. The 
majority of those obtained at Accra in June are in worn 
breeding-plumage ; the vinous on the upper parts and the 
pale edgings to the wing-feathers have disappeared through 
abrasion, and the general appearance of the upper parts then 
becomes pale brown and more uniform. 
Owing to the red soil at Accra, the under parts of several 
of our specimens obtained there are rufous. This Lark is 
plentiful on the rough scrubby plains around Accra, but 
further inland in the Hinterland it becomes scarce. At 
Gambaga it was occasionally observed, generally towards 
evening, flying for a short distance and then dropping verti- 
cally to the ground. In June we found this species breeding ; 
the male birds were constantly to be seen rising vertically 
into the air for a short distance with a peculiar whirring 
sound of the wings and then shooting straight as an arrow 
to earth again. 
Adult S } Gambaga, 28/1/01. Total length (measured in 
the flesh) 5'3 inches, wing 2'7, culmen '05, tarsus '07. Iris 
brown ; upper mandible brown, lower one bluish horn- 
coloured ; legs and feet whitish flesh-coloured. 
The sexes are alike in plumage and dimensions. 
25. MiRAFRA ERYTHROPYGIA (Strickl.). 
Mirafra erythropygia Sharpe, Cat. B. xiii. p. 619; Reichen. 
J, f. O. 1891, p. 390, 1897, p. 43; Hartert, Nov. Zool. vi. 
p. 414 (1899) (Gambaga). 
Although Capt. Giff"ard obtained a single example of this 
rare Lark at Gambaga in 1898, we did not meet with the 
species in that locality, but we eventually obtained four 
specimens in worn breeding-plumage at Karaga, near Salaga, 
which lies near the western boundary of the Hinterland. 
They were very shy and difficult to approach, frequenting 
the patches of yam-plantation and using the newly-made 
hillocks as look-out posts. When disturbed, they would 
often take refuge in some neighbouring thick-leaved tree, 
or rise to a considerable altitude in widening circles, 
dropping quickly to earth again as soon as the cause of 
