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CHAPTER XIII. 



LARKS AND PIPETS. THE WOOD, SHORE, AND SHORT-TOED 



LARKS ; THE MEADOW, TREE, ROCK, AND RICHARD'S PIPETS. 



rpHE WOODLARK (Alauda arbor ea). This bird so 

 JL closely resembles the Skylark in the colour and mark- 

 ings of the plumage, that it would be difficult to distinguish 

 it from that bird, were it not that it is considerably smaller, 

 has a more slender bill, and a hind claw less elongated ; the 

 tail, too, is shorter, and there is a conspicuous light brown 

 streak over each eye, as well as an absence of the crest, 

 which, when erected, gives to the other species such a smart 

 and lively appearance. It is chiefly in the western and 

 midland districts of England that the Woodlark is met with ; 

 in the northern parts it is of very rare occurrence, and does 

 not seem to have been obtained in Scotland. It resides 

 permanently with us, and seldom comes near the habitations 

 of man, preferring wild and lonely places ; the best oppor- 

 tunity of observing its habits is in winter, when small 

 flocks come out into the open fields to search for insects, 

 larvas, and snails of various kinds ; when snow is on the 

 ground, it may be seen in marshy places watching for worms, 

 and when the frost is severe it resorts to the stackyards 

 with Sparrows, Buntings, and other small birds, to feed 

 upon the grain ; but from choice the bird is decidedly in- 

 sectivorous, more so perhaps than the Skylark. Mudie 

 says, that 



The name is not very appropriate, for the bird is one of the waste 

 rather than of the woodland ; and though it perches, which the Sky- 

 lark does not, it has many of the habits of that bird. It feeds on the 

 ground, and nestles there, though under cover ; and though it occa- 

 sionally sings from the top of a tree or bush, its general practice is 

 to sing in the air, swelling its notes as it ascends, and sinking them 

 as it descends, in the same manner as the other. Its notes have 

 also some resemblance to those of the Skylark, but they are not so 



