208 THE LARKS 



long, commencing in the summer before sunrise, and ending only 

 after the shades of night have closed in. At high noon, and during 

 the early part of the afternoon, there is generally a pause. During 

 August, the trying season of moult, the silvery tongue is silent, but 

 from the second week in September the carolling is renewed afresh, to 

 cease only when chill November is more than half-way through. 



As a rule, the song is poured forth while the bird is on the wing, 

 ascending perpendicularly, but veering now to the right now to the 

 left, till a height of about one thousand feet is reached, the songster 

 being sometimes lost to view. Then the descent begins, and with it a 

 change in tune, which some observers assert is so marked that they 

 can tell whether the bird is ascending or descending merely by analys- 

 ing the notes. At the beginning of the season two minutes marks the 

 limit of the song, but in the full flush of spring, and in the excitement 

 of courtship, a quarter of an hour is commonly spent in this delicious 

 exercise. On occasion, however, and with especially vigorous birds, 

 this period is exceeded, and a continuous song of half an hour's dura- 

 tion has been recorded. 



The method of descent during singing, it may be remarked, 

 differs from the ascent, since the bird goes down with its wings 

 kept outspread and without beats, and often by a series of sudden 

 drops, hovering after each new level is reached. Finally, as it draws 

 near to earth, the song ceases and the minstrel drops like a stone till 

 within a few feet of the ground, when it either alights at once, or 

 sweeps away with an almost horizontal course for a few yards, then 

 disappears in the herbage. 



Though normally the skylark sings in mid-air, it is well known to 

 most people that it will also sing when on the ground, on a post, or 

 when perched on furze or whins. It will also warble a few notes 

 occasionally when running on the ground or over fallows. Rarely, 

 too, it may be remarked, it will mount and sing in the rain. 1 



It is commonly supposed that the male alone sings, but while this 



1 Thompson, Natural History of Ireland, vol. i. p. 232. 



