THE LARKS 211 



trees grow thickly. It is a ground dweller, and even roosts on the 

 ground. 



In its search for food it runs with agility, and it does not hop, as 

 do some Passerine birds which commonly run ; and it is supposed by 

 some that the long claw of the hind-toe, common to the family, is of 

 material assistance in tripping lightly over long grass : but this is 

 problematical, for where the claws are lengthened to enable the foot 

 to tread upon lightly supported vegetation, as, for instance, in the 

 Jacanas, all are elongated. Nor is the view that this long hind-claw 

 hinders perching any better supported by facts, for it is well known 

 that the skylark perches readily on the branches of trees whenever 

 it is so minded, though this habit is not common. Attempts have 

 been made to accord a use to this "spur." It seems to have 

 been widely believed among shepherds, for instance, that the spurs 

 were very effective weapons of offence, since they were capable of 

 blinding sheep. According to tradition, sheep wandering too near 

 the nest of the lark were promptly attacked by the parent birds, 

 which repelled the unconscious trespasser by digging their spurs into 

 the eyes, inflicting a poisonous wound which speedily resulted in 

 blindness. 1 Youatt, however, long since realised the absurdity of 

 this belief, though he retained the term "lark-spurred" for sheep 

 suffering from a form of ophthalmia which " suddenly occurs without 

 any apparent cause." 



It is generally supposed that the song of the skylark, as in 

 other singing birds, is the dominant factor in securing success during 

 the critical period of courtship, but the precise significance of this 

 sweet music, and the part it plays during this phase of life, 

 is by no means definitely settled. At any rate, with the advent 

 of spring comes a reawakening of the slumbering fires of love, 

 and all that is associated therewith. And though the first signs 

 of this outburst may be expressed in song, buffetings and tourneyings 

 form a no less important accompaniment. But both these manifesta- 



1 Harting, Field, 1904, p. 576 ; 1905, p. 549. 



