478 
Mr. M. J. Nicoll —Contributions 
99. Al^emon alaudipes (Desf.). 
Certhilauda desertorum Shelley, p. 135. 
Alcemon alaudipes alaudipes (Desf.); Hartert, Yog. d. pal. 
Fauna, iii. p. 250. 
The Bifasciated Lark is met with singly, in pairs, or in 
small flocks on the edge of the desert in the Province. 
I have specimens of two distinct phases collected by 
Mr. Bonhote and myself, one rufous-sandy above with small 
markings on the breast, the other greyish above with large 
blotches of black : in some specimens these blotches coalesce 
and form patches. 
Up to the present time I have no breeding examples from 
Egypt. 
100. Galerida cristata nigricans. 
Galerita nigricans Brehm, Yogelfang und JNaumannia, 
1858, p. 206. 
Galerida cristata nigricans Brehm; Hartert, Yog. d. pal. 
Fauna, ii. p. 227. 
This dark form of the Crested Lark ranges in the Delta 
from Damietta to Cairo. It is common near Giza and nests 
in the Birseem fields. I have a series of specimens obtained 
at different times of the year, and in all of these the markings 
on the breast are very black and broad. 
101. Galerida cristata (?). 
Amongst my series of Giza Crested Larks I have a specimen 
which I shot during the winter, entirely different from G. c. 
nigricans —paler and less thickly spotted on the breast. This 
bird exactly matches one shot by myself at Damietta in 
January, and three collected near Port Said by Commander 
H. Lynes, now in Mr. H. F. Witherby’s collection. As 
I do not at present know the breeding-place of this form I 
consider it inadvisable to give it a name. It is possible that 
it breeds near Lake Menzaleh, but, on the other hand, it 
may be an immigrant from somewhere in Southern Europe. 
I" hope to be able to find out more about its breeding-place 
shortly. 
I have not yet met with G. c. altirostris . 
