TEE LARKS. 63 



LARKS IN CONFINEMENT. 



AMONG the birds which, may be taken and tamed when old, Bechstein 

 gives the Sky Lark, of whose song he says that it is exceedingly 

 agreeable, with which verdict most who have heard it will agree, 

 although Neville Wood says that it is harsh and unmusical; he is, 

 however, decidedly in a minority. No doubt it very much depends 

 upon the frame of mind in which it is heard, the time, the circum- 

 stances, and the scenery. The German naturalist tells us that this 

 strain consists of several passages, all of which may be characterized 

 as trills and shakes on various notes of the scale, and only occasionally 

 interrupted by the repetition of a loud whistle. It is a docile bird, 

 and even when old will often imitate the songs of its fellow-prisoners. 

 It may have the range of the room or aviary, or be shut up in a cage, 

 which should not be less than eighteen inches long by nine broad, and 

 fifteen deep, on the floor should be a box filled with silver-sand in 

 which the bird delights to dust its feathers. The top of the cage 

 should be lined with cloth that the bird may not hurt itself when it 

 obeys the strong instinct to soar as high as it can. Food and water 

 vessels should be fixed to the side of the cage, or placed in a box 

 inside, so that they cannot well be turned over. 



The time for taking young Larks out of the nest is when the tail 

 is about three-quarters of an inch long : they may be fed upon bread 

 soaked in milk with some poppy seeds, ants' eggs should be given if 

 they can be procured ; the musical instruction of the birds should 

 commence before they are fully fledged, if it is desirable for them to 

 whistle and pipe other than their own wild notes : they have good 

 imitative powers, and soon acquire the song of the Chaffinch, Nightin- 

 gale, or other bird near which they may be placed. 



Larks will live in confinement as long as six or eight years, if well 

 cared for and fed regularly, on poppy, crushed hemp seed, and bread 

 crumbs, occasionally varied with oats, barley groats, and malt, with 

 now and then some green stuff such as water-cress, lettuce, cabbage, 

 etc.; lean meat cooked and shredded fine, ants' eggs, and small worms, 

 they take with avidity, and a little food of this kind is no doubt 

 beneficial to them. 



