The DESERT LARK (_Ammomanes deserti_) is one of the smallest members of
this group, not being more than five and a half inches long, and eight
and a half broad. The upper part of the body is of a sandy yellow or
grey, marked upon the throat by fine dark lines; the black tail and wing
feathers are edged with reddish brown.
[Illustration: THE MOOR LARK (_Saxilauda Tatarica_).]
We ourselves have met with these birds in all parts of the African
Desert, even in the sandy plains called by the Arabs _Hammadas_, or
_Red Lot_; indeed, such spots as these are selected by preference, the
little creatures seeming carefully to avoid the oases, or any districts
that bear the impress of cultivation, only leaving the burning wastes
to wander unmolested through the ruined temples of the Pharaohs, to
which their dismal cry seems to lend an additional shade of gloom. In
their movements the Desert Larks exhibit an activity and adroitness
that enables them to travel over the loose sand upon which they live
with surprising rapidity. Their disposition is quiet, and so extremely
engaging, as to cause them to be regarded by the Arabs with peculiar
favour; as to their requirements, they must certainly be numbered amongst
the most easily satisfied of living creatures; a little sand and a few
stones are all they need to form a home, and should the locality selected
by a pair of Desert Larks afford them a few blades of coarse grass, their
utmost desires are fulfilled. Day after day you may visit the spot, and
there they will be found perching upon the same stone, apparently as
happy and contented as birds can be. Early in the year they commence the
labours attendant upon incubation, concealing their nests with so much
care amongst the stones, that all our attempts to discover them have
proved fruitless. Nothing can exceed the fearlessness with which man is
regarded by the Desert Lark; it will frequently allow the approach of a
stranger without the slightest demonstration of alarm, having learned by
experience that their attractive manners render them safe at least from
the pursuit of the Arab, if not of the naturalist.
* * * * *
The BUNTING LARKS (_Pyrrhulauda_) may be regarded as the dwarfs of the
Lark family. They inhabit a large portion of Africa, including the
eastern coast, and are remarkable not merely for the smallness of their
size, but for their short thick beak and very large wings.