318 THE SHORELARK. 



cry resembling the syllables lu, lu ; hence CUVIER has applied to 

 this bird the term Alauda lulu. If the season be mild, how- 

 ever, they continue their sweet song far into the autumn. 

 BOLTON tells us, that some bird-fanciers prefer the song of this 

 bird to that of the Nightingale, with which it is said sometimes 

 to contend for superiority, invading even those hours which are 

 generally considered sacred to the queen of feathered vocalists. 



" What time the timorous hare trips forth to feed, 

 When the scar'd owl skims round the grassy mead ; 

 Then high in air, and poised upon his wings, 

 Unseen the soft enamoured Woodlark sings." 



BLYTH says, " in hot summer nights Woodlarks soar to a pro- 

 digious height, and hang singing in the air." It has been a 

 matter of dispute whether the term Woodwell, or Woodwale, 

 used by some old authors, refers to this bird, or to a species of 

 Thrush. In the ballad of Robin Hood we find it said 



" The Woodwele sung, and would not cease, 



Sitting upon the spray, 

 So loud, he waken'd Robin Hood, 

 In the greenwood where he lay." 



129. THE SHORELARZ. 



Alauda Alpestris, LIN. Alouette de Virginie, ou Hausse-col noir, BUF. 

 Die Berglerehe, BECH. 



Description. The Shorelark is seven inches in length, and 

 a somewhat larger bird than the Skylark. The plumage on 

 the upper part of the body is similar in colour, but the throat 

 and lower part of the meek are light yellow, and, as well as 

 the breast, traversed by a black stripe in the form of a horse- 

 shoe. The north of Europe is the home of the Shorelark, 

 but in winter it may be seen in various parts of Germany, 

 seeking in the horse-dung for grains of corn. It is often cap- 

 tured on the southern side of the Thuringian Forest, when 

 returning home, especially in a snowy spring, with limed 

 twigs and nets. It is, however, often so emaciated, as not to 

 be able to eat the food offered it. It may be treated in all 

 respects like the other species of Larks. 



ADDITIONAL. This bird is sometimes called the Horned Lark ; 

 its claim to be admitted into the British Fauna rests upon some 

 three or four specimens, one obtained in Norfolk, another in 

 Lincolnshire, and a pair in Kent ; the male only of which, being 



