62 



THE SKY LARK. 



Among the variety of song birds that 

 ornament our groves and fields, few are 

 in more general estimation than the sky 

 lark : it is the first to greet the rising sun, 

 and is often heard early in the morning, 

 long before there is sufficient light to 

 enable the spectator to see it in its soaring 

 flight. This circumstance, combined with 

 the extraordinary melody and sweetness of 

 its notes, have rendered the sky lark an 

 universal favourite, many preferring it to 

 every other bird, not excepting even the 

 nightingale and canary. 



This bird in its form is long and slender, 

 with rather a long tail; its plumage is 

 brown above, and white underneath, and 

 the feathers on the top of the head being 

 rather long, form a kind of crest or projec- 

 tion on the back of the head. 



Bewick observes of the lark tribe in 

 general, that " from the peculiar construe- 



