THE CRESTED LARK 183 
more sandy in tint, and the dark centres to the feathers are less conspicuous. 
Col. Irby, in his ‘Ornithology of the Straits of Gibraltar” gives the 
following account of this species:—‘‘The Crested Lark is one of the most 
abundant birds both in Morocco and Andalucia, though never seen in any 
great numbers together. They are distributed in pairs on every road-track 
and open plain, often at intervals of only some twenty yards. Excessively 
tame and fearless, they have acquired the name of Carretera, from their habit 
of frequenting roads, to which they resort as much on account of the horse 
and mule-dung, at which they are to be seen pecking, as for the purpose of 
dusting themselves; and they are often to be noticed on the sea-shore, running 
about like a Sanderling within a yard of the water. 
They have no song worthy of the name, and are altogether rather vulgar 
and uninteresting birds. This species is one of those which I could not 
detect migrating in the slightest degree. ¢ 
The Crested Lark usually commences to lay about the 2oth of April, 
placing the nest in some tuft of grass or under shelter of a small stone or 
clod of earth—constructing it, like those of other Larks, with bits of grass, 
bents, etc., lined with hair.” 
Howard Saunders says:—‘‘’ The nest, often commenced early in March, is 
usually placed in some such depression of the dry ground as a hoof-print, or 
amongst herbage, but sometimes on an old wall or bank of earth, or even on 
the ridge of a low thatched shed in the fields; the materials employed being 
dry grass and roots. The eggs, four to five in number, vary from greyish- 
white distinctly spotted with brown and violet grey, to greenish-grey mottled 
with olive brown: average measurements ‘95 by ‘68 in. Incubation, in which 
the male takes part, lasts a fortnight. The Crested Lark is a tame and 
conspicuous bird, frequenting sandy roads—in which it is fond of dusting 
itself—and running with great rapidity, while I have often seen it glide 
beneath a horse when at a slow walk, rather than take wing. Its flight is 
undulating and resembles that of the Wood-Lark. It is not gregarious, and is 
generally seen singly, or in pairs and family parties. The short but rather 
liquid and melodious song of the male is generally uttered on the ground, 
though often during a short flight, and occasionally from a bush; the note 
may be syllabled as ‘coo-hai.. The young are fed on insects and their larve, 
but seeds and grain form the principal food of this species, and in snowy 
weather it may be seen examining horse droppings, etc.” Manual of British 
Birds, p. 244. 
Dixon says that in Algeria he ‘‘often saw this bird soar into the air for 
