THE SKYLARK. 



invisible, but I have never in all my life 

 heard a Skylark when I could not see 

 it. However, it is only right to confess 

 that I am gifted with abnormally strong 

 eyesight. He continues to sing upon his 

 descent, but in a somewhat altered tone, 

 until approaching the ground, when his 

 carol suddenly ceases, and with closed 

 wings he drops like a stone to the earth. 



Early in the season Larks rise but a 

 small height in the air, and sing only for 

 a brief period ; but in the full tide of their 

 joy they pour out their music for six, 

 seven, and even ten or fifteen minutes 

 without ceasing. During the latter part 

 of the season the males of this species 

 appear to grow idle and sing a good deal 

 upon the ground. I have also heard them 

 sing from the tops of gates, small bushes, 

 and even stunted trees. 



I fondly imagined that everybody 

 loved the varied, sprightly, and unstinted 

 song of the Skylark until the other day, 

 when I happened to dip into an old book 

 on the subject of our song birds, and dis- 

 covered that the author described its 

 notes as " harsh and monotonous in the 

 extreme .... and when divested of 

 all associations they are a wretched con- 

 cern . . . wholly devoid of melody." 



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