THE SKYLARK. 307 



and when the bird is excited, the feathers occasionally erect 

 themselves into a crest. The cheeks are greyish brown, and 

 encircled by an indistinct whitish grey line, which passes between 

 the eyes. The feathers of the back are blackish brown, with a 

 broad margin; in some parts, pale reddish brown, and in others, 

 whitish grey. The rump is rusty grey, striped with blackish 

 brown ; the chin, belly, and vent, yellowish white ; the lower 

 part of the neck, the breast, and the sides, dingy white, inclining 

 to rust colour, and covered with fine blackish brown lines. The 

 wing-coverts are greyish brown, the larger ones being edged 

 with pale reddish brown. The pen feathers are dark brown, 

 the five first being whitish, the next reddish in their margin ; 

 and those next to the body, which are larger than those in the 

 centre, are grey ; and they are all tipped with white. The 

 tail feathers are blackish brown ; those in the centre have on 

 the inner plume a broad margin of rusty brown ; those on the 

 outside, of whitish grey; the two external feathers, on the 

 whole of the outer and half of the inner plume, are white. 



The female is somewhat smaller than the male; and is 

 characterized by the more numerous and larger black spots on 

 the back and breast, as well as by the generally lighter 

 colour of the latter. The two following varieties are fre- 

 quently seen in aviaries. 



1 . The White Lark^ which is occasionally met with in a wild 

 state, and is either pure white, or yellowish white. 



2. The Black Lark, which is a smoky black all over the 

 body, with a faint tinge of rust colour, and a margin of white 

 on some of the plumage of the belly. I am not aware that 

 this variety has ever been met with in a wild state, but it is 

 not uncommon in aviaries, particularly if the Larks have been 

 kept in a dark place. Unlike the White Lark, it resumes the 

 natural colours of the species, after moulting. 



Habitat. The Field Lark is at home all over the world, 

 and frequents meadows, ploughed fields, and plains. It is a 

 bird of passage, arriving at the beginning of February, and 

 leaving in large flocks in October. Of all birds of passage, it 

 is the earliest in its arrival ; which may probably be accounted 

 for by the circumstance, that as it feeds not only on insects, 

 but on grain, seeds, and various green shoots, &c., it can 

 hardly fail to find nourishment, even if cold weather should 

 unexpectedly set in. 



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