632 ALAUDA GULGULA. 



Mr. A. Anderson are paler above and beneath than my birds, and the hind claws are louger than in most Ceylonese 

 specimens. I notice particularly the absence of rufous tinting on the breast-feathers. The wings in two skins 

 measure 3 - 6 and 3' 7. 

 Messrs. Sharpe and Dresser, in their article on the European Sky-Lark (A. arvehsis), look upon the Indian form as a 

 diminutive of that bird, having the tail-feathers more pointed and the outer pair more tinged with isabelline 

 rufous. In addition to this it must be noted that A. arvensis is not so rufous on the under wing, and the 4th 

 primary is considerably shorter than the 3rd, whereas in the Indian bird it is only slightly so. 



Distribution. — The Indian Sky-Lark is a resident in the northern half, east, and south-east of the island, 

 as well as in the eastern parts of the Kandyan Province, and a north-east monsoon visitant to the western and 

 south-western portion of the country between Colombo and Hambantota. It is found throughout the year as 

 far down the west coast as Chilaw ; and from that district to the Jaffna peninsula it is very common, inhabiting 

 the islands of Karativoe, Manaar, and all those in Palk's Straits. As regards the east of the island, it is most 

 numerous round the south-east coast. At Colombo it makes its appearance after the rains in October, and 

 does not quit the district until May, on the 5th of which month I have even seen it at Galle. It is not 

 unfrequcnt on most of the patnas of Uva throughout the year, the highest point at which I have seen it being 

 Carey's Gap, 5200 feet. 



On the mainland this Lark is diffused throughout India from the extreme south to the Himalayas, 

 extending on the one side westwards into Siudh and on the other into the countries eastward of the Bay of 

 Bengal as far south as Moulmein, being confined to the neighbourhood of that town and the tract between 

 the Sittang and Salween rivers. In the south it is found abundantly on the Nilghiris, and from Ootacamund 

 came the type of Mr. Brooks's A. australis. Miss Cockburn found it breeding on this range of hills, and 

 Mr. Wait likewise at Conoor. It has not been recorded from the Travaucore hills or from the Palanis by 

 either of the oft-quoted writers in ' Stray Feathers ;' but it may possibly occur in them, particularly on the 

 grassy slopes of the latter. It is not mentioned either from the Deccan by Dr. Fairbank ; but Messrs. Davidson 

 and Wender say that it is not uncommon in Satara. In the Mount-Aboo district Captain Butler says it is 

 not very plentiful, and he does not note it from the mount itself. It occurs in all the surrounding region, 

 though it is not common in Sindh. It was procured in that province by Messrs. James and Blanford. It 

 extends from this section of country up into Cashmere and along the Himalayas, in many of the tracts at 

 the foot of which mountains, such as Kumaon, it is common. In the North-west Provinces and in Bengal it 

 is as much at home as anywhere else in India; but in Chota Nagpur does not seem to be well distributed, 

 as I find that Mr. Brooks only procured it at Assensole. Mr. Ball notes it in his list of bii-ds from the 

 Godaveri and Ganges region, from Bard wan, Sirguja, Jashpur, Udaipur, and Bilaspur. Eastwards 

 Dr. Armstrong found it evenly distributed in the Irrawaddy delta; and in Burmah Mr. Oates notes it as a 

 visitant; further south it extends, as above remarked, as far as Moulmein. 



Habits. — This songster frequents the same situations as its European congener — pasture-land, stubble- 

 fields, bare commons, and so forth. It is, however, with us particularly noticeable on the rich pastures 

 surrounding the great inland tanks of the northern half of the island. No meadows in old England in the 

 merry month of May sound more pleasantly with the sweet song of Larks than do these lovely spots in 

 Ceylon, surrounding the lasting monuments of the might of its ancient kings ! These verdant lands remind 

 the sojourner in tropical Ceylon of home; the long meadow-like grass, the browsing hundreds of cattle 

 driven down by the Kandyans to fatten, and the air filled with the song of the Sky-Lark recall pleasant 

 memories ; but let the wanderer awake from his reverie and only cast his eye around on the boundless circle 

 of dark forest, and the broad, wooded lake, its surface broken here by the head of a stealthy crocodile and 

 there by the stately form of a huge Pelican slowly floating along its glassy waters, and the vision of green 

 English meadows is quickly dispelled. A more peaceful existence obtains for the Sky-Lark in Ceylon than 

 in India; in the latter country, when "flocked" in the cold season, it is caught in great numbers for the 

 table, and is sold in Calcutta, in common with various Pipits, as " Ortolan." Its home in Ceylon, however, 

 is in the woods and plains far away from the epicurean wants of large towns ; and were it ever found in 

 abundance near Colombo, the Buddhists of Ceylon are so averse to bird killing, that I do not think the Lark 

 would have many enemies to fear. 



