SKYLARK. 19 



rapidly to the earth. In February, these birds are seen 

 flying in pairs, after having all the autumn and winter con- 

 gregated in flocks : they are not, however, early breeders. 

 In their habits larks are terrestrial, — running, feeding, build- 

 ing, and roosting upon the ground. They are very lively 

 in all their motions, and when feeding upon the ground they 

 run with a quick and graceful step, frequently stopping and 

 erecting their bodies, as if to listen or to look around, raising 

 at the same time their conspicuous crest. These birds are 

 inveterate dusters, or pulverisers, and we have also some- 

 times seen them wash with much enjoyment, wading into 

 shallow water for that purpose. Besides grain and seeds, 

 Skylarks also eat insects of various sorts, for which they 

 search assiduously upon grass-fields and lawns, and after a 

 heavy shower may be seen running into the little pools 

 formed by the rain, in chase probably of insects that have 

 been driven from their hiding places. 



Skylarks begin to breed in May, and the localities chosen 

 are generally corn, clover, or grass-fields, &c. The nest is 

 usually placed in the open field, unsheltered by bushes or 

 hedges. It is constructed upon the surface of the ground, 

 and composed of dry grasses in considerable quantity, form- 

 ing a thick and comfortable mattress, and lined with finer 

 portions of the same material ; the nest is constructed, how- 

 ever, of fragments so short, that it cannot be moved from its 

 situation entire. The eggs are mostly four in number, and 

 usually placed in the nest with their smaller ends towards the 

 centre. 



The Skylark is not easily driven from her nest ; and when 

 she is, through fear, compelled to desert it, she hovers about 

 in such anxious distress as frequently to betray its hiding- 

 place, although for the most part it is tolerably well con- 

 cealed by the surrounding blades of grass or herbage. Some- 

 times, however, the nest of this species is found in much less 



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