178 
ALAUDIDiE. 
1NSESS0RES. 
CONIROSTIIES. 
A LA UDIBAL 
CRESTED LARK 
Alauda cristata. 
PLATE SLY. FIG. II. 
Since the two instances of the occurrence of this 
species in the British Islands mentioned by Mr. Yarrell, 
others have been killed in Cornwall, and are re¬ 
corded in the “ Zoologist/' The Crested Lark, which is 
met with on many parts of the continent, and is abun¬ 
dant on the opposite coast of France, breeds, like the 
sky-lark, upon the ground, and lays four or five eggs, 
which are scarcely to be distinguished from those of 
our well-known species. Specimens with which I have 
been favoured from the collections of Mr. Walter, 
Mr. Bond, and Mr. Newton, are somewhat larger than 
the usual eggs of the sky-lark, but do not differ from 
large eggs of that species ; those forwarded to me by 
Mr. Newton, together with the nest in which they were 
taken, were sent to him from Holland. 
The nest is much more compact than that of the sky¬ 
lark, and may be removed without difficulty. With 
the exception of two or three small bits of moss, it is 
built entirely of grass ; and whilst the outside is com¬ 
posed of the stalks, the inside is lined with the soft 
flowering tops without their seed. 
