178 THE CRESTED LARK. 



men, memories vary in power. Some have a stronger and more melodious 

 voice ; there are some which, in confinement, begin to sing as early as 

 December, and continue till they moult ; while others, less lively, delay 

 till the month of March, and cease to sing in the month of August. In 

 its wild state, the lark begins to sing in the first fine days of spring, the 

 season of pairing, and ceases at the end of July ; this, however, is not 

 without exceptions, as some individuals continue till the end of September. 

 It belongs to the small number of birds which sing as they fly, and the 

 higher it rises the more it appears to elevate its voice, so that it may be 

 heard when it is out of sight. In the country, it very seldom sings when 

 on the ground ; in the room it often does, and with ease, and it becomes 

 so tame as to come and eat from the table or the hand. 



THE CRESTED LARK. 



Alauda cristata, LINN^US ; Le Cochevis, ou la grosse Alouette huppge ; Die Han- 

 benlerche, BECHSTEIN. 



THIS bird is stronger than the sky-lark, and its colour is 

 lighter, but its length the same. The beak is lead-coloured, 

 and brown at the point, is also rather longer; the iris is dark 

 brown. The shanks are an inch high, and yellowish gray ; the 

 head, the cheeks, the upper part of the neck to the upper part 

 of the back, are of a reddish gray, caused by the wide red 

 edges of the feathers, which are brown in the middle ; a reddish 

 white line, hardly perceptible above the eyes, but very distinct 

 beyond, extends from the nostrils to the ears ; eight or ten long- 

 pointed blackish feathers rising on the head form a beautiful 

 perpendicular crest. 



The crest of the female is lower, but her breast is covered 

 with more numerous and rounder spots than the male. 



HABITATION. When wild it is only in autumn and winter that they 

 appear in Saxony in small or large flights, beside the high roads, on dung- 

 hills, near barns and stables, among sparrows and yellow-hammers; they 

 are also found all over Europe, from Sweden to Italy * ; in summer, they 

 frequent the thickets and bushes of the plains, fields, and meadows, or they 

 inhabit the hollows of ditches, paths in woods, and elevated villages. They 

 depart in October. 



In the house they may be kept in cages, like the sky-lark, or be left to 

 run about. I know no bird whose feathers grow so quickly ; if the wings 

 :<re kept clipped, this must be repeated every three or four weeks, as by that 



* They are not natives of Britain. TRANSLATOR . 



