4 
SHORE LARK. 
very nearly equal in length, and the longest in the wing; 
the second rather the longest, the first being a little longer 
than the third, the fourth a quarter of an inch shorter than 
the third; greater wing coverts, dark brown with light brown 
margins, broadest and most distinct after the moult; lesser 
wing coverts, dark brown tinged with red, and tipped with 
white, most so after the moult; primaries, dusky brown, with 
very narrow light-coloured edges, widest after the moult; 
secondaries, brown; tertiaries, brown, some with light brown, 
and some with whitish margins, widest after the moult. Tail, 
black, except on part of the edge of the outer web of the 
outside feather on each side, which is white; the two middle 
feathers are dark brown, with light brown margins; upper 
tail coverts, brown, the central part of the feathers darker 
than the edges; under tail coverts, dull white. Legs, toes, 
and claws, bluish black; the hind claw straight, and longer 
than the toe. 
The female is a little smaller than the male, being about 
six inches and a half in length, and her colours duller; the 
streak over the eye pale yellow. Head on the crown, neck 
on the back, and nape, of the same colour as the back, the 
black changing into brown and greyish. The breast has only 
a narrow brownish black band, fringed with yellow on its 
upper part; back, with more grey than in the male, with the 
shafts of the feathers darker, and with hardly any of the 
red tint. 
The young males after then* first. autumnal moult resemble 
the adult female. 
