200 A DESCRIPTION OF 
THE SKYLARK. (Alauda arvensis.) 
Go tuneful bird, that gladd'st the skies, 
To Daphne's window speed thy way ; 
And there on quivering pinions rise, 
And there thy vocal art display. SHENSTONE. 
THE Skylark is generally distinguished from most other 
birds, by the long spur on his back toe, the earthy colour 
of his feathers, and by singing as he mounts up in the air. 
The common Skylark is not much bigger than the house- 
sparrow. These birds generally make their nest in mea- 
dows among the high gras^, and the tint of their plumage 
resembles so much that of the ground, that the body of 
the bird is hardly distinguishable as it hops along. 
The daisied lea he loves, where tufts of grass 
Luxuriant crown the ridge : there, with his mate, 
He founds their lonely house, of withered herbs, 
And coarsest spear-grass ; next the inner work, 
With finer, and still finer fibres lays, 
Rounding it curious with his speckled breast. 
GRAHAME. 
Larks breed thrice a year, in May, July, and August, 
rearing their young in a short space of time. They are 
