288 



a narrow lateral margin of sandy buff, broader on the smaller, narrower and more inclining to rufous 

 on the larger ones ; upper surface of the body brown, the feathers of the neck and back blackish brown 

 in the centre, margined with buff, giving them the appearance of being broadly striped down the centre ; 

 the lower part of the back and rump more grizzly, the feathers darker in the centre, but not so broadly 

 marked as in the upper pai't of the back ; least wing-coverts brown, edged with buff, very Uke the rest 

 of the back ; greater and median coverts brown, rather darker in the centre of each feather, and con- 

 spicuously margined and tipped with clear fulvous, which shades off into a very narrow white edging ; 

 primaries and their coverts brown, externally margined with pale rufous, the secondaries washed with 

 greyish buff, so that the innermost are about the same colour as the back ; upper tail-coverts brown in 

 the centre of the feather, but slightly more rufous than the rump ; tail-feathers blackish, the four 

 centre ones (the two middle feathers especially) inclining to clear brown, darker in the centre, and 

 shading off into fulvous on the edge, the outer feather decidedly rufous on the external web, this colour 

 also occupying a great portion of the inner one also, the second feather also slightly rufescent towards 

 the tip of the outer web ; all the tail-feathers narrowly margined with whitish at the tip ; lores, 

 extending backwards into a narrow eyebrow, which is almost imperceptible, till it widens out into a 

 broad line behind the ear-coverts, pale isabelline; a ring of feathers round the eye buffy white; cheeks 

 whitish, somewhat tinged with fulvous on the hinder part, with a tolerably defined line of blackish 

 feathers running from below the eye lengthways along the cheek ; ear-coverts brownish, darker on the 

 upper margin, many of the feathers mesially streaked with blackish brown, giving the appearance of 

 irregular lines ; under surface of the body creamy white, with a tinge of isabelline colour on the breast ; 

 the sides of the throat marked with little spots of blackish brown, forming an irregular kind of 

 moustache; the feathers of the upper part of the breast more distinctly streaked with mesial streaks of 

 the same colour, and the flanks narrowly striped with blackish shaft-lines ; under wing-coverts, 

 axillaries, and the greater part of the inner web of the quills clear isabelline rufous, with a few mesial 

 marks of dark brown on the small feathers running along the carpal bend of the wing; bill dull 

 yellowish brown; feet pale flesh-brown ; iris dark brown. Total length 6"9 inches, culmen 075, 

 wing 3"9, tail 2 - 5, tarsus TO. 



Obs. I cannot perceive any noticeable differences in the sexes of the Crested Lark ; nor does the winter 

 plumage appear to differ from the summer dress, beyond being a little more dingy in appearance, owing 

 doubtless to the assumption of grey edgings to the feathers, as is the case with all Larks at this 

 season of the year. 



Young. Very much paler than the adult, and having all the feathers of the upper surface barred near the 

 tip with a narrow subterminal line of blackish brown and a much broader apical bar of white ; the crest 

 fully shown, and the feathers composing it darker brown ; the eyebrow also clearly indicated by a line 

 of white feathers ; lesser and median wing-coverts very broadly margined with white, the greater 

 coverts margined with fulvous white ; quills edged with pale isabelline, the innermost secondaries with 

 white ; lower part of the back and rump fulvous, indistinctly crossed with brownish bars ; upper tail- 

 coverts pale rufous ; tail blackish, the middle feathers very pale brown, irregularly crossed with 

 transverse bars of dusky brown, and edged with whitish at the tip; the outer feather pale rufous, 

 merging into white along the external web ; under surface of the body whitish, with a slight shade of 

 fulvous on the breast, which is marked with numerous small spots of brown; under wing-coverts 

 whitish, with a pale isabelline shade, not so deep as the inner web of the quills, which are decided 

 isabelline rufous, almost as dark as in the adults. 



Obs. After having most carefully examined a large series of Crested Larks I have come to the conclusion 

 that in Europe north of the Mediterranean there is but one species of Crested Lark, and that the 



