Jljouìd ¿rRCJhdüa- dd rlAitk
A L A U D A A U V E U S I S . Ziivw.
WuiUrJmp
S f c * -L a r i t.
Alauda arvensis, Liiin. Fami. Suec., p. 70.
italica, Gmel. edit. Lian. Syst. N a t., toa* a p. Vi<s.
— vulgaris, Ltach, Syst. Cat. o f India-. Marem and Rin!» .
f f i / .'-.' ccelipeta, Pall. Zoog. Rósso-Asiat., toro. i. p. S-J4 .
— segetum, Brelim, Vög. Deutsch!., p. 318.
i - .. montana, Brehm, Vög. Deutsch!* p . 3 1 9, tab . SW. fijr. 1 .
agretto, Brehm, Vög. Deutsch!., p . 32 9 .
I t caunoi bé expected that anything I may attempt to say respeotntg th eh istc ry of * Wlé ,m
the Sky-Lark will be imbued with novelty. From the days «f i lismeer and Speaker owu%
eminence has alluded to its charming song* and every writer, akbougb uoimbwd «i h puei $e*m
correctly described its habits, disposition, and economy. Some authors have dwelt upon us v dm v. y t o «
for the cage and the aviary, and its consequent importance as an article of .commerce ; wferie other*
have dilated upon its qualities as a viand for the table, and displayed their talents m d etain # tww a
dozen larks may he made into one of the most recherche of dishes. For me to rhapsodize <
aerial song and other pleasing traits of the Sky-Lark would be absurd, since poems and verses m this
head are almost innumerable, many of them written with much feeling, and exquisite beauty of expression.
“ The IftSsf larke, messenger of daye, :•
Saluteth, in her song, the mornine gay ;
And fyry Phcebua ryseth up so bright,
That all the orient laugheth of the light"—-Chaucer s Knights Talc.
« Wake now, my love, omjjtf ! for it is rime !
. « • • *’ • •
The merry larke her marina rings aloft.
The thrush replyea, the mavis descant playes."—Spencer’s Eptihalamion.
“ Lo! here the gentle lark, weary of nest,
From hia moist cahqpt iriounts up on high,
And watches the morning, from whose silver breast
The sun ariseth in his majesty."—--Shakespeare.
“ Now laverocks wake the merry mom,
Aloft on dewy wing.”-—Burns.
I I;,. S kv-lipk is universally dispersed over the British Islands, h u t is less numerous in the Western tries,
the Óre u i's and the extreme north o f Scotland; than elsewhere, especially during the months of win.,-;
In autumn our elimatc, generally more humid and milder than that o f tl,e .continent, attracts gre.v
numbers of Lurks to our shores ; and hence enormous flocks may, at this period, be seen congregate,
together in many parts o f the country, but more especially in the central districts. Winter being over
these foreign Larks again cross the channel, and return to the summer home where they were bred m
reared ; while our stay-at-home birds take up their quarters in arable lands, wild heaths, and moorlands
and before the regular migrants have arrived, they have paired, and the exuberant song o f the M l
is attuned in joyous strains, which daily increase in volubility until the female has commenced the »
o f incubation ; and then it is th at the male, daily mouating higher and higher in the air, become-
in ecstasy, and during his ascents pours forth his song to the delight o f his mate as well as
lover of'nature. After the female has performed her natural doty, no such solace is requisite; !
parents are now happy in assiduously attending their young until they are able to live by fa
I f summer be not in its wane, a second nesting takes place, and a similar result follows. The mite
the ground, ascends again in the air, and cheers the female during her second brooding.
-W h e n the weather is fine,” says the Rev. C. A. Johns, “ ito song may he heard tliro.igl.ow
o f the land. Rising, as it were, by a sadden impulse from ito nest o r lowly retreat, the bird bw
yet but a few feet from the groand, into exuberant song, and with its head turned towards th .
ascending perpendicularly, and now veering to the right or left, but not describing c m -
unbroken strain o f melody until it has reached an elevation computed to be, a t the m
feet. To an observer on earth it has dwindled to the sixe o f a mere speck, hut. as
goes, it never rises so high as to defy the search of a keen eye. Having reached