THE SKYLARK. BIRDS. THE WOODLARK. 



363 



great flocks, which may be seen sweeping over the 

 fields, descending into the stubbles in search of food, 

 and sometimes attacking the fields which have been 

 sown with wheat. It would appear that at this season 

 our British larks are reinforced by a considerable 

 migration from the northern parts of Europe, and when 

 the season is severe, many of those inhabiting Scotland 

 pay a visit to the more southern parts of the kingdom. 

 As they become fat during winter, unless the ground 

 is thickly covered with snow so as to prevent their 

 getting a sufficient supply of food, they are at this time 

 regarded as a delicacy for the table, and are taken in 

 great quantities at night, by dragging a net over the 

 stubble-fields in which they generally roost. 



In common with the other larks the Skylark has the 

 hinder claw very long fig. 117 the bill rather slender, 



Fig. 117. 



Foot of Skylark (Alauda arvensis). 



and the tertial quills greatly developed, reaching, in 

 fact, nearly to the apex of the wing when closed. In 

 this last character they closely resemble the wagtails 

 and pipits, the latter of which further agree with them 

 in the elongation of the hinder claw, and in general 

 appearance, as indicated in the names of titlark, pipit- 

 lark, and tree-lark sometimes applied to some of them. 

 Thus, we may regard the larks as constituting a point 

 of junction between the great families of the finches and 

 warblers, and of course, also between the Dentirostral 

 and Conirostral groups of Passerine birds. The feathers 

 of the back of the skylark are dark-brown, with pale- 

 brown edges ; those of the top of the head are slightly 

 elongated, forming an erectile crest; the throat and 

 breast are pale-brown with dark-brown spots, and 

 the remainder of the lower surface is yellowish-white. 

 The male measures seven inches and a quarter in 

 length ; the female is a little smaller, and rather darker 

 in colour. 



THE CRESTED LARK (.4 lauda cristata) has a stronger 

 and more curved bill than the Skylark, and is of a 

 brown colour above, and pale yellowish-brown beneath, 

 with the chin white, and the breast streaked with dark 

 brown. The crown of the head is reddish-brown, and 

 a few of the feathers are considerably elongated, form- 

 ing a pointed crest. The length of this bird is six 

 inches and three quarters. It is an inhabitant of most 

 parts of the continent of Europe, but is rarely met with 

 in Britain ; its range also extends over the greater part 

 of Northern Asia. In its general habits it resem- 

 bles the Skylark, and it has a sweet and agreeable 

 song. 



THE WOODLARK (Alauda arborea) is distinguished 

 from the Skylark by its smaller size, its length being 

 only six inches, by its shorter tail, and by a streak of 

 light brown, which passes over each eye. It is met 

 with in cultivated districts, where there are numerous 

 tall hedges, woods, and plantations, as, unlike the Sky- 

 lark, it perches freely on the branches of trees. Its 

 song is inferior to that of the Skylark in variety and 

 power, but superior to it in sweotness; and it is emitted 

 by the bird both when on the wing and when perching. 

 Its nest is built on the ground. The Woodlark is not 

 a very abundant bird in Britain, and is rather local 

 in its distribution, and more plentiful in the southern 

 counties. It is a permanent resident in Southern 

 and Central Europe, and a summer visitor to Sweden, 

 Denmark, and Russia. 



THE SHORT-TOED LARK (Alauda Calandrella) is a 

 rather smaller bird than the Woodlark, and is readily 

 distinguished from any of the preceding species by 

 the shortness of its toes, and especially of the hinder 

 claw, which scarcely exhibits any of the disproportion 

 characteristic of the larks in general. It is yellowish- 

 brown above, with the centre of each feather darker ; 

 and white beneath. A single specimen has been taken 

 in this country ; but the true home of the species is in 

 the southern and eastern parts of Europe and throughout 

 Central Asia; it visits India during the cold season. 

 When in good condition, it is caught in great numbers 

 for the table hi India, where it is known to the Euro- 

 pean residents as the Ortolan. 



THE SHORELARK (Otocoris alpestris) is a northern 

 species inhabiting the borders of the arctic seas hi 

 both hemispheres, and only descending into the more 

 temperate regions in the winter. It is a rare occa- 

 sional visitor to Britain. The Shorelark is about 

 seven inches in length, and has the back brown, and 

 the lower surface white; the forehead, chin, and 

 throat are yellow ; above the forehead is a black band, 

 terminating on each side in a few elongated feathers 

 which the bird has the power of raising in the form 

 of a pair of pointed ears ; the cheeks and a broad 

 crescent-shaped band on the breast are black. This 

 bird is most abundant in the fur-countries of North 

 America, where it is seen in considerable flocks. Its 

 nest is made amongst the moss and lichens growing 

 on the rocks ; and the bird sits so closely, and is so 

 completely concealed by the similarity of its colouring 

 to that of the surrounding objects, that a heedless 

 passenger might almost tread upon it; but when any 

 danger becomes imminent, it will flutter away as if 

 lamed, so as to entice the intruder from the nest. 



THE GINGI LARK (Pyrrlmlauda grisea), a common 

 species in all parts of India, resembles the Skylark 

 in many of its habits, especially in frequenting and 

 breeding in open cultivated grounds, and rarely, if 

 ever, perching on trees. It .is remarkable for the 

 sudden ascents and descents which it performs in the 

 air rising to some height by a few flappings of its 

 wings, then descending again almost perpendicularly, 

 till it nearly touches the ground, and repeating this 

 movement several times in succession. Its nest is 

 built on the ground, usually in a small hollow. It 

 is a small species, measuring only four and a half 



