126 



BRITISH BIRDS 



with the Wood Lark, it may not l)e quite out of place to 

 say that it is 7 inches in length, of which the tail takes 

 up 3 inches. It has a long, thin bill, that is incapable of 

 shelling seed, which it swallows whole when it partakes 

 of any ; but the diet of the Lark in its wild state consists 

 for the most part of insects and the tender blades of 

 growing grass and various sprouting plants. 



The female is distinguished by her smaller size, lighter- 

 coloured plumage, less conspicuous crest, and more par- 

 ticularly by the absence of the white line round the 



The SKYt.ARK. 



cheeks ; the black spots on the head and breast are more 

 numerous, too, in her case than in that of the male. 



These birds do not perch, though they may sometimes 

 be seen sitting on a broad rail, or a gate-post, or even 

 on the flat top of a well-clipped quickset hedge, but 

 their toes have no power to clasp a perch, and the hind 

 one with its extremely long nail (technically "spur") is 

 very inflexible. 



'rhe nest is made of grass-stems on the ground among 

 growing grass and corn, so that many of them are de- 

 stroyed every year by the mowing-machines. The eggs 



