FBINGILIIMJ. j 101 



THE LAPLAND LARK-BU^TJNG. 

 Northern Europe, Arctic, Amevi, withtlie islands of the 

 Northern Ocean, seem to be the strongholds of the present 

 species, occasional specimens only having been taken in this 

 country. They have been described as breeding in " moist 

 meadows on the shores of the Arctic Sea, the nest placed 

 on a small hillock, among moss and stones." The nest is 

 formed externally of dried grasses, and lined with hair or 

 feathers. The eggs are usually six or seven in number, 

 varying in size and shape, and, if we take the descriptions of 

 individual specimens as a criterion, in colour also ; so that, 

 not being acquainted with the eggs themselves, we are not 

 able to give any general and characteristic description of 

 them. 



THE SKYLARK. Alauda arvensis. As if its rapturous 

 heart would burst without free utterance, the Skylark seeks 

 some scene where silence reigns unbroken, and from the 

 lofty sunlit heaven pours down its song of joy, ceaseless 

 and glorious, in the ear of earth. The theme of the poet 

 and the joy of the peasant, surely the pleasure we derive 

 from the song of this sweet bird during the summer season 

 is ungratefully returned by its continual destruction during 

 the bitter months of winter. The Skylark is extensively 



