ASIATIC SKY-LABK AT TUSKAB BOCK. 335 



The second comment appeared in ' British Birds' a month 

 later.* The writer, Mr. Witherby, said: "It would seem more 

 likely that the Sky-Lark is an example of A. a. cinerea, the 

 Eastern form, which has been taken at Fair Islet [February 24th, 

 1906] , than the very similar South European form, A. a. canta- 

 rella" I take it that as Mr. Witherby had not seen my speci- 

 men before he wrote, it was mainly because the Eastern form 

 had already been recorded from the British Isles he favoured the 

 view that my bird was another example of the same species 

 which had pursued a westward route. On June 9th, 1912, I 

 showed him the bird, and he expressed the opinion that if com- 

 pared with a good series of skins the bird would probably turn 

 out to be a genuine example of A. a. cinerea. On November 8th, 

 1912, Mr. Eagle Clarke examined the specimen, and pronounced 

 it to be a strange species. Careful comparison was made with 

 all the specimens in the Boyal Scottish Museum, and before 

 finally deciding that it was A. a. cinerea Mr. Eagle Clarke pro- 

 posed to take the bird to Tring Museum, in order there to com- 

 pare it with the unrivalled wealth of appropriate material. On 

 January 23rd, 1913, the bird was taken to Tring, and after an 

 exhaustive examination, most kindly conducted by Dr. Hartert 

 and Mr. Clarke, my bird was most nearly matched by the Asiatic 

 Sky-Lark. Since obtaining this bird I have been interested to 

 learn that Mr. Barrington has brought to light from his collec- 

 tion a specimen of A. a. cinerea, which was killed striking at the 

 Old Head of Kinsale, Co. Cork, on October 7th, 1910, and which 

 had remained unidentified for more than two years. J These two 

 Irish specimens, captured as they were in the consecutive seasons 

 of 1910 and 1911, and almost at the same time in October, are 

 highly interesting. But until further data are forthcoming we are 

 hardly in a position even to suggest that the Siberian Sky-Lark, 

 as a rule, spreads far westward over Europe during its autumn 

 migration. For the only other British and, at the same time, 

 European specimen is that taken at the lantern of the Flannan 



* Vide 'British Birds,' vol. v. May, 1912, p. 240, in note on "Reed- 

 Warblers in Ireland." 



f Fair Isle appears to be a mistake ; it should read Flannan Isles. 



| Vide " Siberian Sky-Lark in Co. Cork," ' Irish Naturalist,' vol. xxii. 

 January, 1913, p. 20; also vide "Eastern Sky-Lark in Ireland," 'British 

 Birds,' vol. vi. January, 1913, p. 254. 



