0?*7 O 



Female in summer plumage. General colour sandy brown, the lower part of the back rufescent ; the feathers 

 of the head rather distinctly mottled, owing to the dark bases of some of the feathers being visible, 

 these being less plainly seen on the back and scapulars ; wing-coverts dark brown, with sandy edgings, 

 the innermost ones slightly tinged with rufous ; quills dark brown, the secondaries deeper-coloured, all 

 edged more or less broadly with sandy, the three outermost primaries distinctly margined with white ; 

 tail dark brown, greyish towards the tip, all the feathers more or less broadly edged with sandy, except 

 the two outermost, which are margined with white ; lores and a distinct eyebrow whitish ; cheeks dark 

 brown, with sandy edgings to the feathers ; under surface of the body white, somewhat tinged with buff 

 in some parts, especially on the flanks, which incline to rufous ; the upper part of the breast mottled 

 with brown, this appearance being caused by the showing of the brown bases of the feathers ; the flanks 

 longitudinally striped with brown ; under wing-coverts entirely brown ; bill yellowish at base, brownish 

 grey at the point; legs blackish grey; iris brown. Total length 6*5 inches, culmen 06, wing 4*7, 

 tail 2-8, tarsus 09. 



Female in icinter plumage. The principal markings as in the summer dress, but all the feathers of the body 

 very much paler and more hoary, owing to the broad sandy edgings to all the feathers; the crown, 

 fore part of the face, and upper part of the breast are only a little mottled with small brown specks ; the 

 wings and tail pale brown, all the feathers tinged with clear buff and broadly edged with whitish ; the 

 under wing-coverts pale brown. 



This species is an inhabitant of Central Asia, frequenting the Steppes, and migrating westward 

 into Southern Russia in winter. Its habitat has been erroneously stated by many authors to be 

 Siberia generally ; it is decidedly not, as Dr. Bree states, " an inhabitant of northern climes." 



Forster, who first described the species, found it at Lake Yelton, to the east of the Volga, a 

 locality we have been unable to discover in the map. Gmelin next obtained it in Astrachan ; 

 and shortly after it was procured by Pallas in Tartary, and named by him Alauda tatarica, not 

 A. tartarica, as quoted by authors. His accounts of the habits are as follows : — 



" In summer it lives in the desert lands of Tartary, from the Dnieper to the Irtisch. After 

 rearing their progeny, they congregate, especially in August, and wander over the brackish places 

 of the desert throughout the whole autumn, especially in the region of the salt lake Altan (T), or 

 of the yellow deserts of the Volga, where it is taken in nets for food ; it is not inferior to 

 Thrushes. In Georgia also Giildenstadt observed it plentifully. In the middle of winter, espe- 

 cially when the snow covers the whole land, in the vicinity of the Volga and the Don, more 

 particularly in the southern parts, as also in the Crimea, it comes in poor condition to the 

 towns and suburbs. It is very fond of the saline-flavoured seeds of the Chenopodia and Salsolce, 

 and is easily attracted to the net by scattering oats and com. The flight is less rapid than 

 that of the Common Lark, low and short. In summer, when on the ground it emits a feeble 

 piping, but on the wing its note more approaches that of the true Lark. Its nest is so artfully 

 concealed, even on the bare desert, that for a long time I was unable to discover it, though I 

 offered a reward to my followers. At length I found it in my last journey; it was a very 

 careless structure on the ground, and contained four eggs of a bluish colour, spotted with 

 yellowish. Young males up to the first autumn are like the females, are rather downy till the 

 month of August ; then they change their plumage, and get perceptibly blacker by putting on 

 black feathers edged with pale grey, the breast being distinctly black." 



