CALANDRA LARK. 19T 



tlieir song, it is impossible for amateurs to keep them 

 in their homes, their voice is too loud. When taken 

 young they may be taught to imitate the yoices of all 

 kinds of birds. They often mix together the notes of 

 Thrushes, Finches, Tits, Quails, Linnets, etc., and will 

 even imitate the croaking of the frog. 



' Captain Blakiston, in his description of the Birds 

 found by him in the Crimea, ("Zoologist," 185T, p. 5509,) 

 gives an amusmg account of his first meeting with this 

 bird, which will bear quoting: — 



"I ask any naturalist, is there any pleasure in obser- 

 ving a new species for the first time? Surely you have 

 a peculiar feeling within youj you eagerly wish for a 

 specimen j and T will answer for it that you do not 

 rest till you have obtained one. Suppose that you are 

 a field ornithologist, you take the first opportunity, and 

 although the weather is cold and windy, with snow 

 covering the ground, you trudge ofi" with your fowling- 

 piece to where you observed the birds. I did this on 

 the 2nd. of January, and found the bird I was in search 

 of on the Karani hill, within sight of Sebastopol. I soon 

 procured a couple, and after waiting in the snow behind 

 an old bit of a wall for some time, knocked over six 

 more at a shot; they were Larks, but the largest I had 

 ever seen. I had studied Yarrell well when making 

 out the Short-toed Lark. What could they be? To 

 make sure, however, I turned over the leaves again 

 that evening in my hut, but they were not there. I 

 was at a loss. ^However,' I said to myself, 'they are 

 Larks, but somewhat approaching to Buntings.' So I 

 marked them in my journal as specimens of 'large Lark,' 

 and noted the measurements and other points. This was 

 the Calandra Lark, ( Alauda calandra,J as I afterwards 

 learned from England." 



