The BLACK-HEADED BUNTING LARK (_Pyrrhulauda leucotis_) is black upon the
head and lower portion of the body; the back is reddish brown, the cheeks
white, as is a line that passes over the nape; the hips are dirty white,
the wing-feathers brown, whilst those of the tail are half white and half
brown; the eyes are light brown, and the beak and feet light yellow. Its
length is five inches, the breadth nine and a quarter inches; the wing
measures nearly three, and the tail about two inches.
[Illustration: THE DESERT LARK (_Ammomanes deserti_).]
This lively, elegant little bird is found extensively in all the African
lowlands, beyond sixteen degrees north latitude, flying about freely in
the immediate vicinity of man, and only avoiding such localities as high
mountains or dense forests. In its habits it is by no means so brisk
and alert as the Desert Lark, and its appearance anything but trim, as
it runs or sits with drooping head, and wings hanging loosely from its
side; but its flight is easy, and its movements when upon the ground far
from clumsy, and very rapid. Its song is extremely simple, consisting
generally of a monotonous repetition of the syllables _tit-tit_, and
is uttered both when perched and when upon the wing. Our knowledge
respecting the incubation of this species is extremely scanty, and we
can only say that the little mates are much attached to each other, keep
themselves separate from their kindred during the breeding season, and
rejoin them when their parental duties are accomplished, forming parties
which occasionally become very numerous. The plumage of the young differs
considerably from that of the adult birds.