THE NEST OF THE WOODLARK. 185 



Macgillivray describes the nest of the Woodlark as 

 placed on the ground among grass and corn ; it is composed 

 externally of dry grass, and lined with finer blades in- 

 termixed with hair ; the eggs, four or five in number, are 

 of a pale yellowish brown colour, freckled with amber or 

 greenish brown ; size, nine-twelfths of an inch long. This 

 author and Yarrell seem to be in error in stating that the 

 bird is not met with in Scotland, for Mudie speaks of its 

 building in the high grounds on the skirts of the Grampians, 

 where the nests are liable to be destroyed by the storms of 

 sleet and snow which set in sometimes as late as the middle 

 of May, or even the beginning of June. The bird begins 

 to breed early. Col. Montagu records the circumstance of 

 finding a nest with eggs in it on the fourth of April. Jen- 

 nings, in his l Ornithologia Poetica,' thus describes the home 

 of the Woodlark : 



Lo, the place ! by a river whose stream runs along 



In a warble as soft as a Nightingale's song, 



In whose deeps of clear crystal the maculate trout 



Is seen swiftly darting and sporting about ; 



Here the hill's gentle slope to the river descends, 



"Which in sinuous course through the wilderness wends ; 



There, amid lofty rocks hung with ivy and yew, 



Doth Echo the wood nymph her pleasure pursue, 



And the combe, and the glen, and the shadowy vale 



Invite the fond lover to tell his soft tale. 



The woods and thick copses as mansions of rest 



Many warblers oft choose for their home and their nest. 



A place where content in a cottage might dwell, 



A place that a hermit might choose for his cell ; 



Where afar from all strife, and all tumult and pride, 



The nymph, Tranquil Pleasure, delights to reside ; 



When in meadow or grove, or the woodlands among, 



The birds may be heard in melodious song. 



THE SHORE LARK (Alauda alpestris). This bird, which 

 is sometimes called the Horned Lark, resembles the Sky- 

 lark in form, the body being rather stout, the neck short, 

 the head of moderate size, the wings and tail long. The 

 markings of the plumage are more distinct than those of 

 any other members of its genus with which we are 

 acquainted ; the upper parts are pale brownish red, streaked 



