291 



India. Fifteen specimens from various parts of India differ somewhat inter se ; but after a most careful 

 examination I fail to detect any constant character by which to distinguish them from our European bird. 

 Mr. A. O. Hume, who has carefully examined a large series of Crested Larks from various localities in India, 

 writes in 'Stray Feathers' that "the plumage is excessively variable, but most of the Sindh birds belong to 

 one of two types, the grey brown and the desert or isabelline. I at one time believed that these were divisible 

 specifically ; but the examination of a large series convinces me that no such separation is either desirable or 

 possible. As a matter of fact this species is very variable alike in colour and size, both according to sex and 

 individuals. The wing varies from 35 in a small female to 4'32 in a very large male ; and the bill at front in 

 like manner varies from - 54 to 076. In 'The Ibis' for 1867, p. 48, Mr. Blyth remarks, ' Galerita boysii, 

 nobis, proves to be a good species. Examples from Lahore have the wing 3"5, and the rest in proportion ; 

 otherwise resembling G. cristata.' I am, however, compelled to suppress this supposed species, as well as 

 chendoola, Frankl. ; the examination of a large series proves that it is impossible to draw a line anywhere 

 between the largest and smallest examples. A perfect series of the wings occurs ; and as for the difference in 

 tone of plumage, big and little examples are alike met with amongst the brown, rufous, sandy or desert-colour, 

 and grey types. I have measured carefully some fifty specimens, and arranged them before me according to 

 the size of the wing. In this large series it is impossible to draw a line anywhere. As a rule, all the birds 

 up to the 39 are females, and those of 3 - 9 and upwards are males ; but one female has a wing of 3"95, and 

 there is a male with a wing of only 3"6 ; but this is quite a young bird. Besides the variation in the bill and 

 wings, that in the hind claw is excessively great. Picking out the two extremes, I find that this varies from 

 0'28 to 06, and though the claws are, to a certain extent, proportional to the size of the bird, the longest claw 

 of all pertains to a female with a wing only 3 - -8. Again, the variation in the spottings on the breast is very 

 remarkable : in some these are large, well defined, blackish brown ; in others they are mere blurred streaks, of 

 a somewhat pale brown ; in some the spots are very numerous, in others there are not more than half a dozen 

 altogether. 



"As regards the size, all that can be said is that all the biggest birds appear to be from the far west and 

 north-west." 



I have had the opportunity of examining the type and another specimen obtained at the same time of 

 Mr. A. O. Hume's Galerita magna from Yarkand, which I consider to be referable to G. cristata. In general 

 plumage it very closely resembles the variety described by Canon Tristram under the name of G. arenicola ; 

 but, as will be seen by the table of measurements below, it has a rather longer wing and tarsus. 



China. Six examples from Pekin, Talien Bay, and Heangshungfoo, amongst which are the types of 

 Mr. Swinhoe's Alauda leautungensis, all being collected by that gentleman, agree well with Indian specimens, 

 but are a shade paler and slightly more rufescent than others from Germany. 



I have not deemed it expedient to tabulate the measurements of each individual specimen in the above 

 series of Crested Larks, but give the following table, showing the maximum and minimum measurements of 

 the specimens from each country. I have, however, also given the measurements of Canon Tristram's types 

 of Galerita hrachyura and G. arenicola, and Mr. Hume's G. magna separately. 



Culmen. Wing. Tail. Tarsus, 



inch. inches. inches. inch. 



Sweden 075 — 39 — 25 — 1-0 — 



Germany. 0-6-072 3-8-4-3 2-5-2-8 0-85-1 -05 



Holland and France .... 0-7 -0"75 3-8-4-1 245-2-6 09 -1-05 



Spain 0-65-0-8 3-8-43 25 -2-8 09 -10 



Italy 0-75 — 40 — 27 — 1-0 — 



Greece 07 — 41 — 26 — 0-95 — 



Turkey 0-75-08 40-41 2-6 -265 09 -10 



Cyprus 0-82— 3-9— 2-75— 1-0 — 



3e 



