SHORE LARK. 
178 * 
IiVSFSSORES. 
CONIItOSTMES. 
A LA TJBIDAE. 
SHORE LARK. 
Alauda alpestris. 
PLATE XLV.* 
Mr. Wolley, who has given me the pleasure of figur¬ 
ing so many rare eggs, has accompanied those of this 
species with the following information. “ I found the 
Shore Lark very common in East Finmark on all the 
cultivated lands near the sea, and also up the hills, al¬ 
though less numerous. It was very delightful to hear it 
singing as it sat on a post, or on a rail, or a barn top. 
At one house where I was staying, it used to come on 
the roof soon after midnight, and sing for several hours 
in the cool sunshine. Its nests, of which I found several, 
were placed like common larks, in a depression of the 
ground, often near a stone, and there was nothing very 
striking in the nesting habits or actions of the bird. 
One, whose nest I had some difficulty in finding, be¬ 
trayed it by running on to its eggs whilst I was watch¬ 
ing it at a few feet distance. The nests, when taken out 
of their place, are found to be of a loose structure, and 
are generally lined with down from the willow or other 
plants. The number of eggs commonly four, or some¬ 
times five. The bird appears to be double-brooded, the 
first eggs being very early, the second laid in July. I 
found from experience, that if its nest and eggs are taken 
