132 ORNITHOLOGICAL RAMBLES. 



ferred to the sheltered; and in the little low 

 valleys, where one would expect the birds to con- 

 gregate at such a time, the lark- catcher would toil 

 in vain. 



No bird is so easily netted as the lark ; he 

 generally starts from the ground just before the 

 lower edge of the net touches him, and invariably 

 mounts perpendicularly. This characteristic pro- 

 pensity to ascend at once may be observed by 

 any person who " treads up " a lark in a field, and 

 satisfactorily illustrated by releasing, at the same 

 moment, a newly captured lark and a sparrow 

 from a cage or hat within the precincts of a room. 

 While the sparrow will fly off horizontally, dash 

 himself against the window, and lie almost stun- 

 ned from the shock, the lark will almost always 

 mount upwards to the ceiling, and flutter there 

 for a time, in vain efforts to reach the sky, 

 before he attempts any other mode of exit : but 

 this habit is fatal to him in the netting season ; he 

 might generally escape, as indeed the bunting 

 or clod-bird the sparrow and the linnet con- 

 stantly do, by flying straight forward ; but ascend- 

 ing, as he does, directly from the ground, the 

 moment his wings have touched the upper part of 

 the net, it is suffered to drop suddenly, and his 

 capture is then inevitable. 



