AMERICAN SKYLARKS 203 



"Diving upward," was the word 1 found 

 myself using. Up he goes, — up, up, up, 

 " higher still, and higher," — till after a 

 while he breaks into voice. While singing 

 he holds his wings motionless, stiffly out- 

 stretched, and his tail widely spread, as if he 

 were doing his utmost to transform himself 

 into a parachute — as no doubt he is. Then, 

 the brief, hurried strain delivered, he beats 

 the air again and makes another shoot hea- 

 venward. The whole display consists of an 

 alternation of rests accompanied by song (you 

 can always see the music, though it is often 

 inaudible), and renewed upward pushes. 



In the course of his flight the bird covers 

 a considerable field, since as a matter of 

 course he cannot ascend vertically. He rises, 

 perhaps, directly at your feet, but before he 

 comes down, which may be in one minute or 

 in ten, he will have gone completely round 

 you in a broad circle ; so that, to follow him 

 continuously (sometimes no easy matter, his 

 altitude being so great and the light so daz- 

 zling), you wiU be compelled almost to put 

 your neck out of joint. In our own case, 

 we generally did not see him start, but were 



