LARKS, TITMICE, HONEY-EATERS, THEIR KINDRED 527 



Grahame, in his "Birds of Scotland," happily describes the nest as follows: — 



The daisied lea he loves, where tufts of grass 

 Luxuriant crown the ridge ; there, with his mate, 

 He founds their lowly house, of withered bents, 

 And coarsest speargrass ; next, the inner work 

 With finer and still finer fibres lays. 

 Rounding it curious with its speckled breast. 



This bird displays great affection for its young, removing them under the fear of impending 

 danger, or if the nest is meddled with. Occasionally, however, the bird sits close, instead of 

 seeking safety by flight. 



Brighton enjoys the credit of consuming more larks than an}^ other place in England, except 

 London. It has been estimated that the number of larks annually entering the metropolitan 

 markets alone reaches a total of 400,000 — 20,000 or 30,000 being often sent together; and the 

 numbers eaten elsewhere in the country must be enormous, quite as large, indeed, as abroad. 

 Most are captured from the hosts which arrive on the east coast of Scotland and England 

 from the Continent on approach of severe weather, the birds making their appearance in 

 thousands, forming a constant and unbroken stream for two or three days in succession. 



Close allies of the Larks, the Wagtails and Pipits come next under consideration. The 

 former range over the Old World, but are unknown in Australia and Polynesia. The pipits 

 have a similar range, but one species is found in, and is peculiar to, Australia. Like wagtails, 

 pipits are unknown in Polynesia; only two species occur in America. 



The Wagtails are generally black and white, grey and white, grey with yellow breasts, 

 or yellowish green with yellow breasts. In the last-mentioned case, as in some specimens of 

 the Yellow Wagtail, the yellow predominates. These birds frequent streams and stagnant 

 waters, like the Red and Grey Wagtails; or corn-fields and meadows, as in the case of the 

 Yellow Wagtail. All these are commonly met with in the British Islands. 



fhoit k) C. Riid] 



SKYLARKS 



T/ie numbers of ikylarks seem to increase ivith the spread of agricultural impro-vement 



