ALAUDIN^, ANTHUS. 
165 
tinct anterior scutella ; toes slender, liind toe large, la- 
teral about equal ; anterior claws rather long, slender, 
compressed, slightly arched, acute, that of the hind toe 
extremely long and nearly straight. Plumage ordinary, 
the feathers ovato-oblong ; frontal feathers encroaching 
on the nasal membrane ; basirostral bristles small ; wings 
long, broad, with eighteen quills ; the first minute, the 
next three longest, one of the inner secondaries very long. 
Tail rather long, straight, deeply emarginate, of twelve 
rather narrow feathers. 
The Larks are intimately allied to the Wagtails on the 
one hand, and to the Thrushes on the other, while in 
some respects they are approximated to the Buntings and 
Finches ; but they do not belong to the Conirostral or 
Thick-billed Birds, as most authors suppose, for their bill 
is differently formed, and they never shell or husk seeds, 
but swallow them entire. They feed on insects, worms, 
and seeds, along with which they pick up particles of 
gravel and sand. They reside chiefly in the open fields 
and pastures, run with considerable celerity, generally 
in a half-crouching posture, and have a rapid and undula- 
ted flight, with a peculiar fluttering mode of flying while 
singing. Their song, although pleasing, is not generally 
melodious, but in several species is extremely protracted. 
They nestle on the ground, laying from four to six spotted 
eggs. Seven species occur in Britain. 
GENUS LIII. ANTHUS. PIPIT. 
Bill of moderate length, slender, straight, compressed to- 
ward the end ; upper mandible with the dorsal line slightly 
declinate at the base, very slightly declinato-arcuate toward 
the end, the ridge narrow at the base, the sides convex, the 
notches slight, the tip narrow' but rounded ; lower mandible 
with the angle rather long, the dorsal line straight, the sides 
convex, the edges erect, the tip narrow ; gape -line straight, 
a little deflected at the base. Mouth of moderate width ; 
tongue very slender, sagittate and finely papillate at the base, 
