THE WOOD-LARK. ' 8l 



and it certainly does sing well into the " gloaming," which has led rustics at 

 times to confound it with the Nightingale ; but, by careless observers, it is 

 much more generally confused with the Tree- Pipit. 



Although this bird sometimes soars quite as high as the Sky- Lark this is 

 not its general habit ; moreover it flies more in circles and descends to the 

 earth in a wide spiral, instead of obliquely or by jerky drops. 



As a cage-bird, the Wood- Lark is a great favourite, and yet I have never 

 possessed an adult specimen. On one occasion when driving through a country 

 road in Kent, with woods on either side, a young bird was seen scampering 

 and leaping to get out of our way. The driver pulled up and succeeded in 

 catching it for me ; but although it soon fed itself and to repletion, it quickly 

 got cramp and died. Later on, in June 1887 my son and I caught sight of 

 a slightly older example of this species in a somewhat similar situation and 

 exerted ourselves to catch it, but it made for a tall hawthorn hedge, up which 

 it escaped with such rapidity, that before we could come up with it, the bird 

 was out of our reach. About September, 1894, I was beautifully taken in by 

 an unprincipled bird-catcher : he had told me of a lovely Wood- Lark which he 

 had, and which he described as singing splendidly. One dark night he knocked 

 at my front door and told me he had brought this bird, which I could have 

 for three shillings. I put my hand through the opening at the top of the 

 cage, and took the bird out ; it had a short tail, but (even in the dark) looked 

 somewhat uncanny ; however he told me he was quite certain that it was a 

 Wood-Lark, so I gave him the money : he hurried off so quickly that I doubted 

 again ; and, taking it indoors to the light, I discovered that the bird was a 

 hen Sky-Lark whose tail had been pulled out and had half grown again. I 

 could not help laughing, but I have never bought a bird from that man since. 



The egg figured on the plate is from Mr. A. B. Farn's collection. 



VOL. ii. 2 O 



