Skylark 



647 



Continent they are not wholly so, for while the majority are absent in the coldest 

 weather, many, evidently northern birds, may be found in various situations. 

 During these fall migrations the birds often come, as on the east coast of Scot- 

 land and England, in a continuous stream for several days at a time until the 

 numbers are simply incalculable. At such times they are snared and netted 

 by thousands and even hundreds of thousands for food, a massacre of the inno- 

 cents that would seem to threaten them with extermination, though Mr. Newton 

 charitably extenuates the slaughter by pointing out that if not thus held in 

 check, many would die of starvation or be lost at sea while seeking new fields, 

 for the food supply could not hold out for such vast hordes. The nest is the 

 usual slight structure of straws and grass in a grain field or meadow. At this 

 time the birds are quite fearless, allowing a near approach before taking flight, 

 and depending much upon the protective coloration for concealment. Their 

 eggs, usually three to five in number, are 

 grayish white marked with brown, drab, and 

 lavender. The food of the Skylark consists 

 principally of the seeds of grain and wild 

 plants, and in summer such insects as they 

 can readily procure in cultivated fields. 



In spring and summer, and to a limited 

 extent at other seasons, the Skylark makes 

 its presence known by its delightful "heart- 

 lifting" song, which is usually uttered while 

 the bird is soaring and circling high in the 

 air, but also after it has alighted on the 

 ground. The notes are protracted and cheer- 

 ful, with a peculiarly liquid sound, surpassing 



in strength and sweetness that of all other birds with which they associate 

 except, perhaps, the Nightingale. The Skylark is a favorite cage bird, since 

 it endures confinement well, and sings freely and delightfully for a good 

 part of the year. When reared from the nest, they become gentle and 

 affectionate, acquiring the song of any birds they are associated with, but 

 if taken when adult they often pine. So celebrated has this bird become 

 on account of its song that many attempts have been made to introduce it 

 into other parts of the world, but, perhaps fortunately, not always with success. 

 In the neighborhood of Melbourne, Australia, and in New Zealand it has 

 become firmly established, but the attempt made some fifteen years ago to 

 naturalize it on Long Island appears not to have succeeded well, though it has 

 been recently reported as abundant in the vicinity of Brooklyn, New York. It 

 is, no doubt, better that this "meddling activity" with nature should fail, since 

 if it once gained a firm foothold it might sweep over the country as its con- 

 frere, the House Sparrow, has done, though it would be found in 'fields and 

 open places instead of towns and cities. 



The other species, if we accept but two as many incline to do, is the Indian 

 Skylark (A. gulgula) of India and Ceylon. It is so exactly similar in coloration 



FlG. 190. Skylark, Alauda arvensis. 



