[Three Hundred Animals Contents]
IS another branch of the family of the Larks, and differs from the common ones in several particulars. The colour of the plumage is more uniform, but fainter and less beautiful; he has a shorter tail, and differs also in bigness; besides, he does not soar up so high in the air, and, when he mounts up, cannot remain so long on the wing. They do not assemble together in flocks as the others do, and are often seen about the banks of lakes and rivers. But the principal and most striking point of difference resides in the crest, which the bird can raise or depress at pleasure. This tuft of feathers upon the head of the bird has caused the ancients to call him Cassita, from cassis, a helmet, as his crest bears a resemblance to the well-known head armour of that name.
