THE LARKS. 61 



largest flock of Larks that can be ever remembered visited them. They 

 covered six acres of ground, and amounted to thousands. They were 

 rather shy, and when disturbed their flight darkened the air. 



A still more amazing flight of Larks was seen by a newspaper cor- 

 respondent, who relates that as he was walking in the Regent's Park, 

 the time of day being one p.m., he observed an immense flock of these 

 birds coming over the Zoological Gardens; their numbers were countless, 

 and they literally darkened the air; they were flying so low that the 

 flock had to divide in order to pass the observer. They took two or 

 three minutes in going over, and shortly after this flock had passed, 

 there came another almost as numerous; and so it continued for the 

 space of an hour, flock succeeding flock, at short intervals, like divisions 

 of a great army, all coming from, and going in, the same direction; 

 sometimes it was a detachment of a few hundreds, and then as many 

 thousands. One of these flocks settled on the ground not far from the 

 observer, covering half an acre, and standing within a few inches of 

 each other. The park-keeper and others witnessed this extraordinary 

 sight. How long the flight had been going on before it was observed, 

 and how long it continued after he left, cannot be told. Here was 

 evidently a migration on a large scale, from one part of the country 

 to another, most likely in search of food. 



THE CRESTED LARK, 



(Alauda ciistata.} 



PLATE IV. FIGURE V. 



THIS species is very rare as a British Bird, only two specimens having 

 come under the observation of collectors in this country, of these one 

 was shot near Tansy, in Ireland, the other in Sussex; the above 

 scientific name was given to it by Gould, who has a figure of it in 

 his "Birds of Europe/' Yarrell describes it in the supplement to 

 his "History/' and Macgillivray in the appendix to his "Manual/' 

 Morris says, " It seems to be doubtful whether the older writers knew 

 it at all." It may probably have been seen and mistaken for the Sky 

 Lark, which it closely resembles, being only a little smaller, having a 

 somewhat stouter bill, and a more decidedly projecting crest. It appears 



