336 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



Islands Lighthouse on February 24th, 1906.* Concerning this 

 bird, Mr. Eagle Clarke writes : — " This form was described by 

 Ehmcke in the ' Journ. fur Ornithologie ' in 1903 (p. 149) as 

 Alauda cinerea, and is the Alaada arvensis cinerea of Dr. Hartert's 

 ' Vogel der Palaarktischen Fauna ' (p. 247). This capture well 

 illustrates the advantage that accrues from a knowledge of racial 

 forms, since it enables us to determine the areas whence came 

 this remarkable grey Sky-Lark to our shores. It has not hitherto 

 been detected in Europe, except in the far east, but according to 

 Dr. Hartert it has its home in Western Siberia, Turkestan, 

 Persia, and possibly in Palestine, and in winter is found on the 

 northern side of the Caucasus, Egypt, Tunis, and Algeria." 



The following particulars relate to the Asiatic Sky-Lark which 

 I found at the Tuskar Light-Station : — Length, 17*3 cm. Wing, 

 10 - 1 cm. Tail, 7 cm. Foot, 2*4 cm. Spur, 1*4 cm. Culmen, 

 8 mm. Weight, 1 oz. 3 drams. Condition, very good, much fat 

 under skin. Gizzard empty. Plumage good ; moult finished. 

 Sex, male. Age, immature. Injury, fracture of the roof of the 

 right orbit, and of the right parietal and right occipital regions of 

 the skull. Such injuries were more than likely sustained as the 

 bird came with great force against the lantern-glass. 



N.B. — The measurements fairly represent the average found 

 in the Common Sky-Lark, but the weight in this Asiatic bird is 

 on the whole proportionately greater. Its remarkably fat con- 

 dition is noteworthy, that is, if we are to correlate such with a 

 lengthened and continuous journey already performed before 

 reaching Ireland. • I have noticed how very fat and in what 

 excellent condition are many birds taken on migration. Such 

 condition must mean a special adaptative or physiological state 

 acquired to sustain the voyagers when, unable to secure food, 

 they are pressed with the pangs of hunger. If, in conjunction 

 with this factor, we consider the wonderful endurance and wing- 

 power in birds, we can better understand how it is that they, 

 affecting a very protracted migration, often reach their destina- 

 tion in a decidedly vigorous condition. 



* " Some Rare Birds from Scottish Stations,'' Eagle Clarke, ' Annals of 

 Scottish Natural History,' 1906, p. 139. 



