THE LARKS 213 



What is true of the skylark during courtship seems also, in the 

 main, to be true of the woodlark. 



The courtship over, the next item in the pageant is concerned 

 with the preparation of the nursery. And just as renewal of fine 

 warm weather in late autumn will reawaken the displays of courtship, 

 so fine weather in early spring will induce the more venturesome, or 

 more vigorous, birds to commence nesting. Skylarks' eggs have been 

 taken in the middle of March; in open weather, indeed, it seems 

 probable that larks normally begin to breed before the end of March, 

 though, as with other species, the young are apt to be killed by out- 

 bursts of cold weather in April. 



In the building of the nest, which for choice seems to be placed 

 amid growing corn or in meadows, the female does the actual 

 work of construction, but the male collects the bulk of the material. 

 Similarly, the task of incubation is chiefly undertaken by the female, 

 though the male bears a share. The sitting birds are exposed to 

 many dangers, chiefly from prowling carnivores, such as stoats, weasels, 

 foxes, and cats, as well as rats and mice, while crows are no less 

 dreaded. The sober-coloration of the birds forms what is practically 

 a mantle of invisibility, since it harmonises so well with the bird's 

 surroundings : but it is possible that they are betrayed at times by 

 scent, while the eggs are probably often taken while the nest is left 

 unguarded. In regard to scent, it may be remarked that the skylark 

 is said to have a strong "gamey" scent, traceable by sporting dogs, 

 but only it would seem when running : so long as the bird sits close 

 it is said to exhale no smell, but this needs further investigation. 



Both birds share the arduous work of feeding the young, which 

 are hatched before the eyelids open, and having the body but 

 sparsely clad in a thin, delicate down. As with Passerine birds in 

 general, the interior of the mouth is brightly coloured of chrome- 

 yellow in the case of the present species ; while thick flanges of pale 

 yellow skin bound the gape on either side. But the interior of the 

 mouth is further peculiar, in that at the base of the tongue are two 



2E 



