176 BRITISH BIRDS 



of antiquity who feasted on nightingales' tongues and other strange 

 meats. 



The skylark inhabits open places, and is to be met with on 

 pastures, commons, downs, and mountain slopes ; but he prefers 

 arable land, and is most abundant in cultivated districts. In winter 

 his song may be occasionally heard in mild weather ; in February 

 it becomes more frequent, and increases until the end of March, 

 when it may be said that his music is at full flood ; and at this high 

 point it continues for several months, during which time successive 

 broods are reared. A more inexhaustible singer than the lark does 

 not exist ; and when we consider how abundant and widely diffused 

 the bird is, the number of months during which he is vocal, and 

 the character of the song — a rapid torrent of continuous sound — it is 

 almost possible to believe that the melody from this one species actu- 

 ally equals in amount that from all the other song-birds together. 



The nest, made in April, is a slight hollow in the ground in a 

 cornfield, or among the grass of a meadow, or any open place, and 

 is composed of dry grass and moss, lined with fine grass and horse- 

 hair. The eggs are four or five in number, greyish white, spotted 

 and clouded with greenish brown. Two or three broods are reared. 



In September the skylarks begin to assemble in flocks and shift 

 their ground. At this season they migrate in large numbers ; but 

 many remain throughout the year, except in the more, northern 

 districts. Large flocks of migrants from the Continent also appear 

 during the winter months. 



In winter the lark feeds chiefly on seeds ; in summer he is an 

 insect as well as a seed eater. 



Woodlark. 

 Alauda arborea. 



Upper parts reddish brown, the centre of each feather dark 

 brown ; a distinct yellowish white streak above the eye, extending 

 to the back part of the head ; under parts yellowish white streaked 

 with dark brown. Tail very short. Length, six and a half inches. 



In appearance the woodlark is a lesser skylark, with a shorter 

 tail in proportion to the body, and no apparent difference in colour, 

 except that the spots on the breast and the pale streak over the eye 

 are more conspicuous. It ranks with the six or eight finest British 



