BRITISH BIRDS' NESTS. 367 



Eggs. Four to five, of a dirty white ground- 

 colour, occasionally tinged with olive-green, thickly 

 spotted and speckled with olive-brown, and under- 

 lying markings of greyish-brown. The markings 

 are generally so thickly and evenly distributed as 

 to hide the ground - colour, but occasionally the 

 markings are less thickly distributed and collected 

 in a kind of belt at the larger end of the egg. Dis- 

 tinguished from Woodlark by crowded olive-brown 

 markings. Size about .93 by .68 in. (See Plate II.) 



Time. April, May, June, and July. 



Remarks. Resident, though subject to partial 

 migration and much local movement. Notes : song 

 consists of several strains, trilling, warbling notes, 

 variously modulated, and interrupted now and again 

 by loud whistling. At the beginning of the breeding 

 season the song is of short duration, and towards 

 the end is frequently uttered whilst the bird is on 

 the ground. Local and other names : Lavrock, 

 Field Lark. A close sitter when the ground is 

 rough and uneven, but not particularly so when it 

 is bare and the situation exposed. 



SKYLARK FEEDING YOUNG. 



