258 Annals of the Transvaal Museum 
four-fifths of the length of the wing; the hind claw is slender and curved, 
but shorter than the hallux. To this group, which contains only one species so 
far as I know, I propose the new generic name of Petranthus, type Anthus 
crenatus F. and H. Another genus is represented in Cynaidium lineiventris 
Sundevall, which is of about the same size as the preceding, but differs 
in the following important respects: the upper parts are uniformly longi- 
tudinally mottled with dark centres to the feathers, and the breast and 
flanks are heavily striped, while the axillaries, bend of the wing and the 
margins of the wing feathers are yellowish much as in Petranthus ; the bill 
is yellowish below and is broader and stouter than in Petranthus] the rictal 
bristles, which are feeble in Petranthus, are well developed in this genus 
and the hind claw is short and much curved; the proportions of the pri- 
maries are much the same as in Petranthus, except that the difference 
between the longest and shortest is not much more than the length of the 
culmen. It seems probable that these two genera have evolved from distinct 
branches of the Pipits, and may be of older origin than Anomalanthus and 
Meganthus, having perhaps been left behind (like many other animals), 
on the eastern escarpment and rocky kopjes respectively, when change 
took place in the climatic conditions of the southern part of the continent. 
My conception of their relationship is that Petranthus is of the same stock 
as Anthus of Europe and Meganthus has evolved from Petranthus when the 
conditions of environment underwent a great change ; likewise Cynaidium 
would be of the same stock as Spipola and Anomalanthus has evolved from 
Cynaidium. If we compare the colour characters, besides the shape of the 
hind claw, it is seen that there is a common likeness which goes to support 
this view. There is also a common likeness between Cajfr anthus, Afr anthus 
and Spipola, which seems to point to their being also allied, their diver- 
gence perhaps of more recent date than in the other case, seeing that they 
are of much the same size and three primaries emarginate ; the differences 
which they display can be traced to their habits and habitat, Caffranthus 
inhabiting dry bush veld, where it has trees to settle on, Afr anthus in- 
habiting the grass veld area where the climate is moister, and its very short 
tail enabling it to rise perpendicularly when disturbed, a habit which seems 
always to produce a short tail. 
Still another genus remains to be dealt with, namely, Hemimacronyx 
gen. nov., type Anthus chloris Sund., which is characterised by its yeUow 
breast and slender toes and claws, which are long and, in common with the 
colour, remind one of the Yellow Wagtails. It has little in common with 
the other plainer coloured Pipits and would seem to be allied to Tmeto- 
thylacus, which differs in having the lower part of the tibia not feathered, 
and is a link between the Pipits and the Longclaws {Macronyx). 
Alaudidae 
The Alaudidae, like the Motacillidae, are much in need of reorganisation 
in their classification ; similarity of habits accounts for their plain coloration, 
and because there are no striking colour differences taxonomers have not 
paid much attention to their structural characters. The length of the bill 
and its shape, which are used so much in all birds for purposes of identifica- 
tion, are here variable to some extent in accord with the nature of the soil, 
as for example in the long-billed larks {Certhilauda), tree larks (Mir afr a) 
