PASSERINE BIRDS. 207 



The Skylark abounds over the whole continent of Europe and its contiguous islands ; in Asia it 

 is met with as far north as Kamschatka, and we think that it may now be numbered amongst North 

 American birds, Audubon having introduced many species into that country, in the hope of their 

 becoming naturalised. Though somewhat rarely seen, Field Larks have been known to reach Egypt 

 in the course of their migrations. We ourselves have seen large flocks inhabiting the Castilian high- 

 lands, and they are said to be plentiful in Algiers and Greece during the colder parts of the year. 

 In England the Lark is always regarded as the harbinger of spring, as with us it has usually returned 

 and selected its home by the end of April. In its behaviour this species closely resembles its con- 

 geners, but, unlike some of them, it is extremely restless, running or flying from one spot co another 

 with a constant change of flight or step, at one moment walking slowly, repeatedly ducking its head 

 as it goes, and the next instant darting along with the rapidity of a plover. When in the air its 

 evolutions are most varied. While singing it usually hovers gently, or rises rapidly with regular 

 strokes of its wings, as it carols forth its well-known lay, which may be frequently heard at intervals 

 from early morning until after sunset, the little songster appearing quite regardless of all other 

 pleasures or desires, as it rises higher and higher towards the clouds, which sometimes seem to hide 

 it from our view. The night is passed upon the ground, but at the first dawn of day, this " herald of 

 the morn," as it has been aptly called, is amongst the first to greet the rising sun, its matin song 

 being uttered whilst still perched upon the spot that has afforded it a shelter for the night. Like the 

 bird we last described, the Skylark lives at peace with its brotherhood until the time for choosing a 

 mate, at which season regular pitched battles are of constant occurrence between the males, who pull 

 and tear each other in the air until the whole party fall struggling to the ground, usually, however, 

 without any serious injury, and quite ready to renew the combat at the first sound of their 

 antagonist's voice ; the females, meanwhile, not only seem to enjoy the scene, but sometimes assist 

 the mate they would prefer. 



The nest is constructed aoout the beginning of May, the birds generally selecting a corn-field as 

 most suitable for building purposes. They choose a piece of ground some two or three hundred paces 

 in extent, and on this they settle, the whole party being as near together as the required space will 

 allow, so that they thus form a kind of little colony. Male and female both assist in excavating the 

 small cavity necessary for the safe deposit of the nest, which is built of stubble, blades of grass, or 

 fibrous roots, the interior being occasionally lined with horsehair. In this humble retreat the female 

 lays five or six eggs of a greenish yellow or reddish white tinge, covered with brown or grey spots 

 (see Coloured Plate X., fig. 37). Both parents assist in the work of incubation, but the largest share 

 devolves upon the female. The young leave the nest very shortly after being hatched, and seek 

 shelter in the neighbouring fields, the old birds being immediately busied with the cares of a second 

 family. Of all the numerous enemies by which the Skylarks are surrounded, man himself stands pre- 

 eminent ; hundreds of thousands are annually destroyed, merely to furnish a dainty food ; and we 

 learn from a continental writer, Elzholz, that they are so much sought after in Germany, that on one 

 special occasion to which he refers 403,455 dead Larks were sold in the town of Leipsic alone, 

 although, he tells us, by far the greater number caught in that part of the country were disposed of in 

 the villages before they could reach the markets in the city. These birds are attracted by any light 

 of unusual brightness, and are sometimes allured to their destruction by a rapidly revolving mirror. 

 Amongst their feathered enemies the hawk known as the "Hobby" is the most formidable — indeed, 

 so extreme is the terror evinced by the little songsters on its appearance, that, if escape by other 

 means is impossible, they will seek refuge in a passing, wagon or similar hiding-place ; we ourselves 

 knew an instance in which a Skylark, driven to desperation, sought protection from its dreaded foe 

 upon the pommel of a horseman's saddle. 



