94 THE BIRDS OF THE BRITISH ISLES. 



sounds every few seconds ; evidently they do not crowd to- 

 gether on the ground. When approached, the feeding bird 

 crouches, ready for the spring, but though many may be in 

 sight they rise singly, each with its call. When the bird rises 

 the white outer tail feathers show, and may be recognition 

 marks ; they are exhibited in the courtship display before the 

 female. Courtship is accompanied by many rapid chases, the 

 birds turning and twisting when flying at great speed, but at 

 times the male hovers singing, his quivering wings half-raised, 

 a few feet above his mate. Swift chases and aerial skirmishes 

 take place at this season between rival males. Insects, 

 especially small beetles, are largely eaten in summer ; I have 

 seen a bird catch and dismember a gold-tail moth, whose 

 sluggish movements and showy whites are supposed to act as 

 a warning, though experiment has proved that the moth is not 

 distasteful. In winter all kinds of seeds are picked up, and 

 fields sown for clover are much frequented. When the young 

 blade appears, of ordinary grass or corn, and the seedling 

 turnips top the earth, the early greens attract it ; but on the 

 whole it does little damage, and without doubt eats as many 

 weeds as useful plants. 



The nest, a simple structure of dry grass lined with finer 

 bents (Plate 37), is placed upon the ground, in the footprint 

 of some beast or a hollow scraped by the bird itself. The hen 

 usually conceals the site by alighting a few feet away and 

 running to the nest by a devious track through the grass. Three 

 to five eggs, densely mottled with brown (Plate 41), are laid in 

 April, and a second brood is usually reared. 



The Skylark's food supply is cut off by snow, and before or 

 during a storm vast numbers trail westward, crossing to Ireland 

 if the storm continues. At such times and during migration 

 we realise the immensity of the Lark population. During 

 threatening weather the bird comes in at night, and in fog is 

 often bewildered by the coastwise lights, but it is also a day 



