SKY LARK. 453 



The Sky Lark is universally distributed over the British 

 Islands, but in severe weather in winter, accompanied 

 with snow, a large portion leave Scotland in flocks to come 

 southward. In Orkney and Shetland it is only a summer 

 visitor, according to Mr. Dunn, retiring to a more south- 

 ern latitude on the approach of winter. It is a common 

 bird in Denmark, Sweden, and Norway, during summer, 

 and a few remain in winter ; but the greater part migrate 

 southwards. The Sky Lark does not appear to visit the 

 Faroe Islands, Iceland, or Greenland. M. Temminck says 

 it inhabits Siberia, Russia, and Western Asia. It is uni- 

 versal over the European continent to the shores of the 

 Mediterranean, and inhabits also Corfu, Sicily, Malta, 

 the Morea, the shores of .the Black Sea, Smyrna, and 

 North Africa. Mr. H. E. Strickland when at Smyrna, 

 says, " immense flocks of this bird arrived from the 

 northward at the commencement of the severe weather 

 at Christmas 1835." 



The beak is dark brown above, pale yellow brown at 

 the base of the lower mandible ; irides hazel ; the feathers 

 on the top of the head are elongated, forming a crest, 

 which the bird elevates at pleasure ; in colour they are 

 dark brown, with pale brown edges ; the nape, back, wings, 

 and upper tail-coverts, varied with three shades of brown, 

 the darkest of which occupies the longitudinal line of the 

 shaft of each feather, and the margin of the feather is the 

 lightest ; the wing-coverts and tertials have broad light 

 brown edges ; the quill-feathers dusky brown ; the outer 

 tail-feather on each side is white, with a longitudinal streak 

 of brown on the inner web ; the next tail-feather on each 

 side is dark brown, with a longitudinal streak of white on 

 the outer web ; the rest dusky brown, with light brown 

 edges ; the throat and upper part of the breast are pale 



