to' be taken by tbe next species. It has been found, however,
in Benguela by Senor Anchieta, who shot a specimen at Caconda;
and has also occurred in the Congo district.
Adult.—Above cindery grey, with concealed bars of cinnamon
rufous and black on most of the dorsal feathers, as well as all the
wing-coverts; head uniform with back, much crested, the feathers
blackish in the centre of the plumes, which are also minutely spotted
with rufous; hind neck cindery grey, separating the head from the
back; quills dark brown, margined with rufous, the inner secondaries
with grey like the back, the' innermost washed with rufous and
crossed with narrow transverse black lines ; tail dark brown washed
•with cindery grey, and tipped with white, the outermost feather
broadly edged with fulvous extending over a great portion of the
inner web obliquely towards the tip, the centre feathers slightly
washed with rufous and minutely barred with blackish in an irregular
manner, besides a few spots of the latter here and there; loral
feathers minutely tipped with white, and behind the eye a small
streak of bufify white; ear-coverts light rufous, inclining to blackish
on their hinder margin; rest of the sides of the face light fulvous
thickly speckled with blackish ; throat whitish with a few scattered
spots of blackish brown ; rest of under surface ashy fulvous, the
feathers, being -all broadly margined with this colour, and thus
obscuring the pale fawn colour of their bases, the breast thickly
spotted with large triangular marks of dark brown, and on the
flan Vs a few narrow lines of dark brown ; the under tail-coverts
minutely spotted with dark brown; under wing-coverts fawn colour,
except the outermost, which are washed with ashy brown, like the
greater series and the entire inner lining of the wing. Total length,
5 inches; culmen, 0'55; wing, 3'0; tail, 2'2 ; tarsus, TO.
The difference between the summer and winter dress in this Lark
may be tabulated as follows :—
The full-plumaged specimens before us of this Lark have not their
.dates of capture attached; but we believe that we have both winter
and summer plumages represented, thus disposing of the idea that
M. apiata can be the winter plumage of M. rufipilea. We therefore
append short comparative characters of the two states, the specimen
described being in what we consider full winter dress.
Summer plumage. Winter plumage.
Upper surface dark brown, the Upper surface grey, the rufous
rufous obscure and the grey colour in broad and half-con-
shade strongly marked only on cealed bands,
the lower back and secondaries.
Head dark brown, with scarcely Head entirely grey, mottled
any grey shade or rufous mark- with blackish centres to the
ingat - feathers, and slightly, washed
here and there with rufous.
Hind neck scarcely lighter Hind neck very clear grey,
than the head or back. paler than head or back.
Wing - coverts ending in -ru- Wing-coverts with a broad
fous, with no perceptible grey whitish grey margin,
margin.
Inner secondaries with a nar- Inner secondaries dark brown
row blackish shaft-line, from in the centre and at entire base
which radiate about six narrow of feather, with only a few imblackish
cross lines. perfect radiations of black near
the tip.
Tail nearly uniform brown, Tail dark brown, tipped with
with an obsolete shade of greyish white, the centre feathers clearly
on centre feathers, the external washed with grey as well a3
ones light fawn colour on outer slightly tinged with rufous, and
^ plainly marked with blackish
radiations and spots near the
shafts.
Eyebrow pale fawn. Eyebrow ashy fulvous.
Under surface of body bright Under surface ashy fulvous,
fawn, the throat and chest concealing fawn coloured bases
speckled with black. to the feathers; the chest-spots
obscured.
Fig. Le Vaill. Ois. d’Afr. iv, pi. 194.
5 1 1 . M irafra r u f ip il e a (17.) Rufous Bar-tailed Lark.
Megalophonus rufipileus (V.): Layard, B. S. Air. p. 211.
This species is nearly allied te M. apiata, which it resembles in
its radiated tail and peculiar mottled plumage. It is, however, not
the same bird, but a distinct species, distinguished by its general
cinnamon-coloured appearance and rufous head, but particularly by