SKYLARK 315 



dentally in Greenland and in Bermuda. The Greenland records 

 are, however, not very satisfactory; Herluf Winge (1898) relegates 

 them to the hypothetical list at the end of his book, as unsubstanti- 

 ated. The Bermuda record rests on better evidence; H. B. Tristram, 

 writing to Dresser, says that he secured one, a storm-driven waif, in 

 Bermuda; and this has been generally accepted. The other ground 

 for recognition is the fact that it has been introduced and is resi- 

 dent on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, and was introduced 

 at several localities in the United States, but failed to establish it- 

 self permanently, though for several years it was resident and bred 

 on Long Island. N. Y. 



If we include the gulgula forms as subspecies of Alauda arvensis, 

 we shall find that some race or other occurs everywhere not only 

 in the whole of Palearctic region, but also in a great part of the 

 Indo-Malayan subregion. Altogether, nearly 30 forms have been 

 separated, but here we are concerned only with the typical race, a 

 common bird throughout the British Isles and the greater part of 

 Europe, with the exception of the Mediterranean region, where it is 

 replaced by other races. 



Skylarks are birds of the open country. The long hind claw 

 shows at a glance that we are dealing with a terrestrial rather than 

 an arboreal species. True, I have occasionally seen one perch for a 

 few moments on the flat, closely cropped top of a quickset hedge, 

 but it was obviously uncomfortable, and, though the word "never" 

 is a dangerous one for the ornithologist to utter, one may assert 

 with some confidence that it does not perch on trees. Even other- 

 wise suitable country, divided up into small plots, with high hedges 

 and tall hedgerow timber, is avoided by them. Grassy downs, wide 

 spreading cornlands, broad meadows, marshy flats, sandy coasts, 

 barren heaths, and rough mountain pastures are the chosen home 

 of the skylark, though it does not penetrate far into the heather- 

 clad hilltops, which are the chosen haunt of the meadow pipit {Anfhus 

 pratensis). 



Spring. — In the British Isles the skylark is a resident and a partial 

 migrant. Severe weather, especially deep snow, will drive them off 

 their territory and force them to work southward and westward in 

 search of uncovered ground. In mild winters, especially in the south, 

 they may be seen (and frequently heard) in every month of the year, 

 except for a short break in August and September when they are 

 passing through the molt. A fine day, even in January, on the south 

 coast of England will bring many a cock skylark up into the air to 

 cheer us with his tinkling song; and the wanderers, driven south 

 by stress of weather, lose no time in working their way northward 

 again as soon as conditions improve and the green fields again become 



