THE WOOD-LARK 



Alauda arborea 



Although the Wood- Lark is very widely dis- 

 tributed over the British Islands it is nowhere 

 common, and is decidedly one of the most local of 

 our indigenous birds. It is pretty generally dis- 

 persed over the southern counties of England from 

 Devonshire to Kent, and northwards to Gloucester- 

 shire, Buckinghamshire, and Norfolk. Beyond these 

 limits its localness increases, although it may be 

 traced here and there as far as the Lake District. 

 In Scotland it is known only to have bred in 

 Stirlingshire; whilst in Ireland, although -aid to 

 be a resident, its distribution remains at present 

 practically undetermined. There can be little doubt 

 that in many localities the present species is 

 overlooked. Outside the British limits we find the 

 Wood- Lark generally, yet still locally, distributed 

 over Central and Southern Europe. In the west 

 it is not known to breed regularly north of lat. 

 60°, whilst in the east the valley of the Volga 

 appears to mark its northern and eastern limits. 

 In the more northern districts it is a summer visitor 

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