318 BULLETIN 17 9, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



matter showed that weed seeds figured largely, 43.5 percent; grain, 

 9.5 percent; and leaves of crops, 1 percent. Of animal matter, 35.5 

 percent was injurious insects, 3.5 percent neutral, and 2.5 percent 

 beneficial insects; worms, 2 percent; slugs, 1 percent; and miscel- 

 laneous matter, 1.5 percent. 



The food of nestlings was entirely beneficial, consisting of insects 

 and larvae. It is evident that on the whole this species is beneficial, 

 but in hard weather, when large flocks are present, considerable dam- 

 age may be done to leaves of autumn-sown young corn, and an ap- 

 preciable amount of grain is taken. During a brief spell of Arctic 

 weather on the south coast of England in December 1939, when the 

 ground was covered with a few inches of snow down to the seashore, 

 skylarks were migrating along the coast westward in countless thou- 

 sands, and where green crops (cabbages and sprouts) stood out above 

 the snow, the ground was brown with larks, even in small gardens in 

 suburban districts, where normally the birds are never seen. The 

 leaves of the cabbages were rapidly reduced to mere skeletons, and 

 apparently the whole crop was ruined, but, as the hearts were seldom 

 reached and usually only the side leaves destroyed, the plants subse- 

 quently recovered. Some of the dead birds picked up were mere skele- 

 tons, obviously starved to death ; and, from observations in Kent and 

 southeast England, it became evident that many of these birds were 

 immigrants from the Continent. 



Among insects taken we have records of Collembola, Orthoptera, 

 Hemiptera (Aphides), Lepidoptera {mcludmg He pialis, also various 

 larvae), Coleoptera {Phyllotreta, larvae, etc.), Hymenoptera (Ich- 

 neuTTion, Formicidae), and Diptera (larvae). Spiders and millipeds 

 also are taken. 



Voice. — The song of this species has been described already, as it 

 forms an integral part of the courtship, and serv-es as an indication of 

 territory already occupied. One remarkable point about it, which has 

 not been mentioned, is the remarkable length of time during which it 

 may be continued. Continuous song by one male for at least 7 to 10 

 minutes, and possibly longer, is not infrequent. O. G. Pike's statement 

 that it has been known to remain in the air for half an hour is prob- 

 ably due to observations on more than one bird. The way in which it 

 rises higher and higher, singing all the time, till it can only just be 

 distinguished as a mere speck in the sky, is unparalleled by any other 

 bird. The duration of the period is also long. H. G. Alexander 

 (1935) records full song from February to June (inclusive) and again 

 through October, and partial song from November to January and in 

 July ; so that August and September are the only months when it is 

 silent, and then only for most of the time. The other note, which one 

 frequently hears, is described by B. W. Tucker (1938) as a "liquid. 



