18 AliAUDID.E. 



" Up springs the lark, 

 Shrill-voiced and loud, the messenger of morn : 

 Ere yet the shadows fly he, mounted, sings 

 Amid the dawning clouds, and from their haunts 

 Calls up the tuneful nations." 



These few lines of the poet, full of freshness and truth, 

 convey more forcibly to the mind the character of the Sky- 

 lark than as many pages of dull prose could do, and fitly 

 serve as a preface to its history. The Lark may be consi- 

 dered the herald of the year as •well as of the morning, as 

 he is one of the first of animated beings to observe and 

 welcome the return of spring. The first mild and balmy 

 morning that intervenes between the dull and cheerless days 

 of that early season, the song of the Skylark may be heard 

 as he rises into the air, rejoicing in the welcome change. 

 At first his flights are low, and of short duration, and his 

 song wants the full and mellow richness that distinguishes 

 it at a later period : but, as the spring advances, his flights 

 are oftener and oftener repeated, and his full voice swells 

 as if with unbounded joy. While singing, the Skylark rises 

 to a surprising elevation, often higher than the eye can follow 

 him, although his clear voice may be still distinctly heard. 

 We are not prepared to affirm to what height above the 

 earth these flights are pursued, but we think they must 

 frequently be considerably above a thousand feet ; yet, such 

 is the extraordinary power of the lungs of this species, that 

 their song continues unabated from the moment of rising 

 until their feet again touch the ground, a period often of 

 eight or nine minutes. It is observable that the Skylark, 

 while rising in the air, always has his face directed towards 

 the quarter from whence the wind blows. His descent is 

 usually performed quicker than his ascending flight ; and 

 when he again comes low enough to be distinctly seen, his 

 wings are closed to assist his downward motion, and he drops 



