958 Synopsis of Indian Fringillida. [No. 156. 



ings; probably E. hortulana, apudSykes, P. Z. S. 1832, p. 93. Would 

 appear to be closely allied to E. hortulana, but differs in having the 

 head, neck, and streak descending from the lower mandible ash-grey 

 instead of dull green. Indian peninsula. 



8. E. sordida, Hodgson, MS. Presumed female about five inches 

 and a half in length, the wing two and a half, and tail two and a 

 quarter ; bill to forehead nearly half an inch, and tarse three-quarters of 

 an inch. General hue of the upper parts dull olive-greenish, the fea- 

 thers of the crown and back partially tinged with rufous, having medial 

 dusky streaks ; alars and greater wing-coverts also margined with ru- 

 fescent-brown, and the two greater ranges of wing- coverts tipped with 

 dull whitish : throat, belly, and under tail-coverts, whitish- yellow, 

 sullied on the breast, and marked with dusky streaks on the flanks and 

 sides of the fore- neck : upper mandible and tip of the lower one dull 

 horny, the rest pale ; and legs also pale. Nepal. Described from a spe- 

 cimen taken to England by Mr. Hodgson. 



The Indian Larks follow next, which are as follow : — 



Pyrrhulauda, A. Smith. Of this African form, there is one common 

 Indian species : — 



P. grisea ; Alauda grisea, Scopoli : A. gingica, Lath ; Fringilla cruci- 

 gera, Temminck. India generally. 



Mirafra, Horsfield : the Agguns. The species of this genus vary 

 considerably in the degree of thickness of the bill, and also in the length 

 of the wings and relative proportion of the primaries ; but the first 

 quill is always short, though varying a good deal in development, and 

 the second rarely equals the third. Those with shorter and more 

 rounded wings are also of a thicker form and less active in their habits ; 

 while the others present a nearer approximation to the true Larks. 



1. M. assamica, McClelland and Horsfield, P. Z. S. 1839, p. 162 ; 

 described in J. A. S. XI, 199. Remarkable for its thick bill, and 

 obese, squat figure. Wings moderately long, with the first primary an 

 inch in length, or nearly so, the second a quarter of an inch shorter 

 than the third, and the third, fourth, and fifth, equal and longest. 

 Common in Bengal, Assam, and Nepal. 



2. M. erythroptera, Jerdon, MS.; " M. javanica ?" Jerdon's 

 Catalogue, Madr. Journ. XI, 33, and probably of Franklin's catalogue. 

 This species a good deal approximates the M. javanica, Horsf , Lin. Tr. 



