THE LARKS. 85 



Eange in Great Britain. — Universally distributed, and resident 

 everywhere except in the more northern portions, which it 

 quits during the winter. A large migration of Larks takes 

 place into England during the autumn. 



Range outside the British Islands. — Generally distributed through- 

 out Europe, where the form is identical with the general run 

 of specimens from Great Britain ; breeding as far as ihe Arctic 

 circle or a little beyond; but only known as a winter visitant 

 in the Mediterranean countries, where a paler and lighter form, 

 generally called A. cantarella, takes the place of the true 

 Alauda arvensis. This pale form extends to Central Asia and 

 North-western India, while a more rufous race, known as Alauda 

 liopus, inhabits the Himalayas, and extends to China and Japan. 

 These races of Sky-Larks are scarcely worthy of separation from 

 our British birds. 



Habits. — These are almost too well known to need descrip- 

 tion, as the Sky- Lark is a general favourite with everyone, but 

 especially when its bright song is heard in the spring and 

 during the nesting season, when it soars into the air and sings 

 at such a height as to be often almost invisible. In winter, 

 when the home-bred birds are reinforced by a vast invasion of 

 migratory Sky-Larks, they distribute themselves over the 

 stubble-fields, and as they devour a great number of seeds of 

 noxious weeds they doubtless render good service to the 

 farmer, but they also pick out a considerable number of grains 

 of newly-sown corn. 



Nest. — Placed on the ground, generally on a level with the 

 surface, a cup-shaped depression being scratched out by the 

 bird for its reception. It is nearly always well concealed, and 

 sometimes hidden under grass or a tuft of herbage. The nest 

 itself is made of dry grass, lined with fine roots and grasses, 

 with a little hair occasionally. 



Eggs. — Three to five in number. Ground-colour greyish- 

 brown or brownish-white, more rarely greenish-white, the eggs 

 generally thickly clouded with brown and grey, the latter being 

 the underlying colour, the brown overlying markings occurring in 

 the fcrm of spots and blotches, the larger end of the egg being 

 generally uniform, and the dark colour forming a ring. Axis, 

 0*9-1 'o inch; diam., o^-o'y. 



