73 
Wild Birds Useful cindj Injurious. 
are almost invariably confounded together under the common 
name of tit-lark or pipit-lark. 
The food of both species consists principally of insects, 
worms, small slugs, and snails, in pursuit of which the birds 
may be seen running nimbly over the fields. Small seeds, 
especially in winter, form a considerable portion of their susten- 
ance, with occasionally a few grains of oats and barley. 
The Skylark. 
The Skylark or Laverock ( Alauda arvensis ), so well known 
for its glorious and unmistakable song, is, happily, a common 
bird in most parts of this country, and at times in winter visits 
us in flocks of prodigious magnitude. The whole length of the 
male is seven inches and a quarter, the female being rather 
smaller. On close inspection the great length of the claw of 
the hind toe is at once sufficient to identify this mottled brown 
bird. Its song is often heard long before daybreak, and never 
sounds more sweet and clear than when uttered by a chorus of 
larks in the stillness of a summer night. This I once heard 
to perfection on Salisbury Plain about two hours after midnight. 
The nest and dusky eggs of the bird are by no means easily 
detected, and the nestlings also closely assimilate with the 
colour of their surroundings. Though some nests are destroyed 
by horse-hoeing and other tillage operations, the greater 
number are saved by the hollows scratched in the ground for 
their reception. As is the case with peewits, the parent birds 
make several of these hollows before finally adopting one 
as suitable for their requirements. The nest, too, frequently 
owes its immunity to its situation amongst growing crops, 
where it is comparatively safe from interference. 
The food of the skylark is composed to some extent of farm 
produce, but for this it makes amends by eating many destruc- 
tive insects, including the wireworm, as well as the seeds of 
such pernicious weeds as charlock, knotgrass, and chickweed. 
Seed corn, especially autumn-sown wheat, both before and after 
sprouting, possesses great attractions for it, but it is only in 
exceptional cases that the crop is materially injured in con- 
sequence. It should be remembered that the wireworm is 
known to enter into the skylark’s dietary and, when a crop fails 
to braird thickly, it is advisable to make quite certain of the 
cause before accusing the birds. The injury is most felt in the 
case of a field sown out of season, or in an isolated position, so 
that the attention of a large flock of birds is concentrated on 
a small area. In hard weather the skylark feeds on the leaves 
