368 



Qtoatfurg cC Natural 



are very assiduous in their attention to their 

 charge : on the approach of any person, they 

 flutter round his head with great inquietude, 

 and if he persists in advancing they will en- 

 deavour to draw him away, by running along 

 the ground as if lame, and thereby inviting 

 pursuit. It subsists chiefly on worms and 

 the animalcula of the sea-shore. These 

 birds are very lively and active during their 

 love season, being almost continually in 

 motion, sporting and frolicking in the air 

 in all directions, or springing and bounding 

 from spot to spot with great agility. 

 " Far from her nest, the lapwing cries 

 ' away.' " Shaks. 



In the month of October they are in good 

 condition for the table, and their eggs are 

 considered a delicacy. [See TERUTERO.] 



LARID^E. Birds of the Gull tribe, all of 

 which are oceanic in their habits, and distin- 

 guished for great powers of flight. [See GULL 

 and LESTRIS.] 



LARK. (Alauda.) There are many spe- 

 cies of this bird, and their great characteristic 

 distinction from other birds consists in the 

 extreme elongation in an almost straight 

 line of their hinder claws ; by this formation 

 the prehensile faculty is nearly destroyed, 

 and consequently, with the exception of a 

 few species with shorter claws, they are in- 

 capable of perching upon trees. The bill is 

 straight, slender, bending a little towards 

 the end, and sharp- pointed : the toes are all 

 divided to their origin, the nostrils are co- 

 vered with feathers, and the tongue is bifid. 

 These birds are famed for singing during 

 flight ; and there is something very delightful 

 in listening to their melodious strains when 

 the performers are soaring aloft, beyond the 

 reach of human ken. From the situation of 

 their nests they are greatly exposed to the 

 attacks of predaceous animals of the weasel 



kind, which destroy great numbers of the 

 eggs and young. The speci< 



rhich first 



claims our notice is 



The SKY-LARK. (Alauda arvensis.) This 

 delightful songster, the most harmonious of 

 the whole family, is universally diifused 

 throughout Europe, and is everywhere ex- 

 tremely prolific. It is about seven inches in 



is.) 



length : bill dusky, the base of the under 

 mandible yellowish : the feathers on the top 

 of the head are dusky, edged with rufous 

 brown ; they are rather elongated, and may 

 be set up as a crest : the plumage on the 

 upper part of the body is reddish-brown, 

 with the middle darkest, and the edges rather 

 pale : the upper part of the breast is yellow, 

 spotted with black ; and the lower part of 

 the body is a pale yellow. The tail is dusky 

 brown ; legs dusky ; claws dusky ; the hind 

 one being very long, straight, and strong. 

 The male is of a deeper colour, and larger 

 than the female ; and is further distinguished 

 by having the hind claw longer. The spe- 

 cies is subject, however, to considerable va- 

 riety ; and has even been found of a pure 

 white colour. The Sky-lark commences his 

 song early in the spring, continuing it during 

 the whole summer, and is one of the few 

 birds that chant whilst on the wing. When 

 it first rises from the earth, its notes are 

 feeble and interrupted ; as it ascends, how- 

 ever, they gradually swell to their full tone, 

 and long after the bird has reached a height 

 where it is lost to the eye, it still continues 

 to charm the ear with its melody. It mounts 

 almost perpendicularly, and by successive 

 springs, and descends in an oblique direction, 

 unless when threatened with danger, when 

 it drops like a stone. The female forms her 

 nest on the ground, close to some turf, which 

 serves at once to hide and shelter it ; some- 

 times in corn-fields ; and, at others, in va- 

 rious sorts of pasturage. She lays four or 

 five dirty white eggs, blotched and spotted 

 with brown ; and she generally produces 

 two broods in a year. These prolific birds 

 live on seeds and insects, they are most abun- 

 dant in the more open and highest cultivated 

 situations abounding in corn, being but sel- 

 dom seen in extensive moors at a distance 

 from arable land. In winter they assemble 

 in vast flocks, grow very fat, and are taken 

 in great numbers for the table. 



The WOOD-LARK (Alauda arborea) 

 greatly resembles the Sky-lark, though it is 

 much smaller, and the colours are less dis- 

 tinct. The feathers on the crown and upper 

 parts of the body are marked with dusky 

 spots edged with light reddish brown : from 

 the beak over the eye is a narrow yellowish 

 white band surrounding the crown of the 

 head ; the feathers over the ears are brown, 

 beneath which is another light band : quilla 

 dusky ; neck and breast yellowish white, 

 tinged with brown, and marked with dusky 

 spots : tail short ; the four outer feathers on 

 each side black, with dirty wliite tips ; tail- 

 coverts very long and brown : legs yellowish 

 flesh-colour : hind claws long, and slightly 

 bent. It is generally found near the borders 

 of woods, perches on trees, and sings during 

 the night, so as sometimes to be mistaken 

 for the nightingale. When kept in a cage, 

 near one of the latter birds, it often strives to 

 excel it, and, if not speedily removed, will 

 fall a victim to emulation. This species can 

 be easily distinguished from the Sky-lark 

 during flight, as it does not mount in the air 

 in a perpendicular manner, and continue 

 hovering and singing in the same spot like 



