l;l,S Nuinil A.MKItll'AN ItlUDS. 



.Mr. ]\Iiic^illi\ ray ^'ivos lut exfL-Uciit ami ^Tapliic desciiptinn of tlio liabits of 

 tliis liinl, iVniii wliicli we extract a imrtioii ilcscripliM' of its snu<^. "It lias 

 lu'cii alli'i^cil," 111' writes, "tliat tlii' Lark asci'iiils in a si)iral inaiincr, lail my 

 nliscrvaliciii (Iocs nut currolioralc tlic statement. In risin,u' it often jiasses di 

 rccliy npwanl, l)Ut willi the lioily alway.s horizontal, or nearly .so, tlien moves 

 in a curve, and continues thn.s alternately, but witliunl a continiied spiral mo- 

 linn. At lirst, tile motion of the wiiij^s is nnii'urmly llutt(!rinjf ; hut afterwards 

 it shddts tiieni out l\\\. tr three limes succo.ssivoly at intervals, and when at 

 its j^reatest hei,L;ht e.xhiliits this actiun more remarkably. When il de.scoiul.s, 

 the siinj,' is Udt intermittoti, liut is continued until it approaches the j^ronnd, 

 when il usually darts down headlon;.,', and ali^dits aliruptly. Frecpiently it 

 resumes its soul? after ali^ditiiif,', and continues it for a short time, hut moro 

 cummouly it stops when it has reached the ground. Often a Lark may ho 

 .seen iKiverinj,' over a field, in full .soni,', for a considerable time, at a small 

 height. Oil the 4lh of May, 1<S;>7, I observed a Lark jierehed on a half- 

 burnt whin branch, where it remained sin^'in;f i. loiiu time. I have often 

 seen it perch on a wall, and .several tiuics on a hawthorn bush in a liodj^e ; 

 but it never, I believe, alights on tall Iree.s. 



'•The soiiii of the Lark i.s certainly not musical, for its notes are not finely 

 modulated, lair its tones mellow ; but it is cheerful and clieerin<f in the lii>ih- 

 I'st di'i^rce, and ]notracted beyond all comparison. In a sunny day in Ajiril 

 or May, when the },'rass-fields have be<;un to resume their verdure, it is 

 pleasant to listen to the merry son<,'.ster that makes the welkin rinjj; with its 

 sprightly notes ; in the sultry month of July, still more ])lea.saiit is it to 

 hear its matin hymn while the dew is et on the corn; and in winter, sliouhl 

 you chance to hear the well-known voice on high, it reminds you of the 

 bright days that have gone, and tills you with anticijiation of those that are 

 to come. No doulit much of the pleasure derived from the Lark's song do- 

 ]teiids upon association, but indeiieiidently of circuinstances and associations 

 tile .song of tlu^ Lark imparts an elasticity to the mind, elevates the spirits, 

 and sus])eiiils for a time the gnawing of corroding care. The carol of the 

 Ijirk, like the lively life, e.xcites ]»ure cheerfulness. In continement this 

 bird sings every whit as well as when at large, and when rapidly ])eraniVm- 

 latiug the sipiare bit of faded turf in its cage, it enacts its ]tart with appar- 

 ently as much delight as when mounting toward heaven's gate." 



This bird succeeds well in cages, and lives to a groat age, Yarrell mention- 

 ing one that lived nearly twenty years in continement. Its natural food is 

 grain, the seeds of grasses, worms, and various kinds of insects. They be- 

 gin to mate in Ajiril, and have two broods in a season. Their nest is always 

 placed on the ground, often sheltered by a tuft of grass, or some other pro- 

 tection. The nests are woven of coarse grasses and stems of plants, and 

 are lined with finer materials of the .same. The eggs are five in number, 

 have a grayish-whit<^ ground, occasionally a greenish-white, very generally 

 sprinkled and blotched with markings of dark-gray and an ashy-l)rown, so 



