ORTOLAN — TREE-PIPIT— WOODLARK 1 5 7 



wings are generally large and pointed, with the first primary, when this is 

 present, always short. The general colour of their plumage is brown above and 

 lighter and whiter below, with dai'ker lines and spots which in some cases are 

 black ; one species being entirely black. They are ground-birds, keeping mostly 

 to dry fields, and walking instead of hopping. The cocks may be distinguished 

 by the fact that when singing they soar almost perpendicularly in the air, and 

 then, with folded wings, drop to the earth. Insects, green plants, and seeds form 

 the food ; and the nest is placed on the ground. 



Among the numerous representatives of this mainly Old World group is the 

 woodlark (Lullula arborea), whose home is in forests and heathy districts, with a dry, 

 sandy soil and but few plants, and barren hills and slopes and uncultivated fields. 

 It prefers evergreen to deciduous trees, and is never found in river-side woodlands. 

 Although called the woodlark, and appropriately so in many countries, in some 

 parts of central Europe this bird keeps mostly to the ground, and only rarely visits 

 trees, into the leafy tops of which it never ascends. The nest is on the ground 

 generally in a hole amid low bushes, especially in a forest-glade or on the outskirts 

 of a wood ; and may contain eggs in the first half of April and a second time in 

 June. The woodlark lives on insects, seeds, and tender herbage ; and although 

 difficult to detect when on the ground, is easily recognised in the air on account of 

 the shortness of its tail. Its slow, trilling, and soothing song consists of uneven, 

 fragmentary bars, following quickly one on the other, and each containing an 

 equal number of syllables. On account of its peculiar charms, many fanciers 

 consider the song of the woodlark superior to that of any other song-bird. The 

 song may be uttered from the top of a tree or in the air : in the latter case, the 

 bird only commences to sing when at a considerable height, and, throwing itself 

 from side to side, continues its upward flight without intermission, sometimes 

 swaying in the air, its tail outspread and its wings motionless; then, having 

 finished its song, it closes its wings and falls like a stone to the ground. Arriving 

 in central Europe in March, or, if the weather be favourable, a little earlier, the 

 woodlark leaves at the end of September or in October. It ranges as far 

 north in Europe as central Sweden, but eastwards only so far as Persia, although 

 in the east, and even in the Lebanon, it is often found in great numbers. In 

 England it is resident and a local migrant, in Ireland resident, in Scotland 

 a migrant only. In Greece it is partly resident and partly a winter bird, 

 as it is along the northern coasts of the Mediterranean, though a few cross over 

 to Africa. 



