THE LANGUAGE OF BIRDS. 
23 
voice of the wood -lark. It 'delights to fix its resi- 
dence near little groves and copses, or quiet pastures, 
and is a very unobtrusive bird, not uniting in com- 
panies, but associating in its own little family parties 
only, feeding in the woodlands on seeds and insects. 
Upon the approach of man, it crouches close to the 
ground, then suddenly darts away, as if for a distant 
flight, but settles again almost immediately. 
" This lark will often continue its song, circle in 
the air, a scarcely visible speck, by the hour together; 
and the vast distance from which its voice reaches us 
in a calm day is almost incredible. In the scale of 
comparison, it stands immediately below the nightin- 
gale in melody and plaintiveness ; but compass of 
voice is given to the linnet, a bird of very inferior 
powers. 
" The strength of the larynx, and of the muscles of 
the throat, in birds, is infinitely greater than in the 
human race. The loudest shout of the peasant is 
but a feeble cry compared with that of the golden- 
eyed duck, the wild goose, or even this lark. The 
sweet song of this poor little bird, wdth a fate like 
that of the nightingale, renders it an object of capture 
and confinement, which few of them, comparatively. 
