SKYLARK. 



Alauda arvensis. 



Char. Above, yellowish brown streaked with dark brown, darkest on 

 back and crown ; buff streak over the eye ; wings brown, margined with 

 buff and tipped with white ; outer tail-feathers mostly white ; below, pale 

 buff, spotted and streaked with brown. Length about 7 inches. 



Nest. In a meadow, under a tuft of grass ; made of coarse and fine 

 grass. 



Eggs. 3-5 ; dull gray, marked with olive brown ; 0.95 X 0.70. 



Although not mentioned by Nuttall, this European bird becomes 

 entitled to a place among the birds of America through its occur- 

 rence casually in Greenland and Bermuda. About 1886 a number 

 of these birds were liberated in New York State and New Jersey, 

 and in 1888 a colony appeared established at Flatbush, Long 

 Island ; but the experiment has not been successful, for this colony 

 has disappeared, and Mr. Frank M. Chapman, writing in 1895, 

 says : " At the present time the species is not known to exist in 

 North America in a wild state." 



