Bill similar to that of Anthus, but stouter and blunter; nostrils protected by short feathers and several hairs; rictal bristles few and short; first primary shorter than primary-coverts; second primary nearly as long as third, which is equal to fourth; tertials slightly longer than secondaries; claw of hallux slender, nearly straight, and equal to more than two-thirds the length of tarsus.

689. ALAUDA WATTERSI Swinhoe.
FORMOSAN SKYLARK.

Bohol (Everett, McGregor); Luzon (Möllendorff, Whitehead, McGregor, Bartsch); Sibuyan (McGregor); Ticao (McGregor). Formosa and the Pescadores.

Adult.—Upper parts blackish brown, streaked with ochraceous-buff; lores and superciliary stripe from bill to nape pale buff or whitish; ear-coverts dusky; malar region and sides of throat marked with small blackish spots; under parts white; chest buff with short blackish shaft-lines; sides and flanks buff, the latter obscurely streaked with dark brown; wing-feathers and rectrices dark brown, edged with cream-buff or ruddy buff; outermost pair of rectrices entirely white; the next pair with their outer webs white.

In freshly molted individuals the feathers of upper parts are rounded at the ends and fringed with white, producing a squamate appearance, which disappears as the plumage becomes worn; feathers of occiput somewhat lengthened forming a crest, and the feathers of sides of nape forming short ear-tufts.

A male in fresh plumage measures: Length, 150; wing, 85; tail, 54; culmen from base, 15; depth of bill at nostril, 5; tarsus, 23; hind toe with claw, 24. A female in worn plumage measures: Wing, 81; tail, 48; culmen from base, 13; depth of bill at nostril, 5; tarsus, 23; hind toe with claw, 22.

This species is very similar to the European skylark from which it is distinguished by its much smaller size.

Three eggs of the Formosan skylark from Isabela Province, Luzon, collected by Whitehead on May 25, 1894, are thus described: