198 CALANDEA LARK. 



The Calandra Lark nests on tlie ground among lu- 

 cerne or corn. Its nest, according to Dubois, resembles 

 much that o£ the Crested Lark; it is made of blades of 

 grass and roots, lined with moss and root-fibres, some- 

 times with wool and feathers. 



It builds twice a year, in April and June, and lays 

 from four to six eggs, of a dirty white, covered with 

 numerous spots of olive green, thickest generally at the 

 larger end, though sometimes equally diffused. Long 

 diameter one inch or nearly, short, three-quarters of an 

 inch. 



The adult male in breeding plumage has the upper 

 parts rich brown, with the feathers bordered with russet. 

 Inferior j^arts bluish white, with two large black spots 

 on each side of the neck, forming a kind of half-collar, 

 and separating the white throat from the russet and 

 brown spots, with which the crop is mottled. Wing 

 primaries blackish brown, the outer web very lightly 

 bordered with white ; the secondaries broadly tipped with 

 that colour; under wing coverts and under part of pri- 

 maries uniform blackish brown, relieved by the white 

 shaft of the first quill, and the white tips of the second- 

 aries. Two upper tail feathers brown, bordered with 

 lighter, the two laterals white, the rest rich dark brown, 

 tipped slightly with white; beak yellowish below and 

 on the sides, dark brown along the upper ridge; feet 

 yellowish brown; iris grey. 



According to Degland, in the male after moult, or in 

 autumn, the feathers above are darker in the centre, 

 and their borders more russet. The plumage of the 

 female resembles that of the male in autumn, but the 

 head and beak are smaller, and the demi-coUar in the 

 neck is narrower. 



The young after the first moult have the plumage 



