ALAUDA, Lin. &c. LABS.
Bill straight, short, conical ; upper mandible arched, of equal length with the under, and without a notch ; nostrils at the base of the bill ovoid, and covered by small feathers, projecting forward ; the three anterior toes quite divided, and the claw of the hind one longer than the toe ; the third quill the longest ; feathers of the head more or less lengthened, and capable of erection.
The larks live on the ground in the fields ; do not vi brate the tail, and sing as they mount perpendicularly into the air. They nestle on the soil, roll in the dust, and are easily reared in confinement. They moult only once a year, and the females and young are not very dissimilar in appearance from the males.
A. Calandra, Lin. &c A. sibirica, Pallas. Calandre Lark. Breast with a fuscous band ; web of the exterior tail feathers, and the second and third, at the tip white. Larger than the sky-lark, which it considerably resembles, both in appearance and manners. It has been observed throughout a great part of Europe, and over large tracts of Asia, frequenting the deserts of Tartary, and most of the Russian empire. It forms its nest after the manner of the sky lark, and lays four or five clear purple eggs, marked with large cinereous spots, and dark brown dots. It is seldom seen in flocks. As it has not only a note of its own, superior to that of the sky-lark, but will imitate that of many other song birds, it is often caught young, and trained to sing in confinement. In winter it is very fat, and much esteemed for the table.
A. cristata, Lin. &c. Crested, or Greater Crested Lark. Head crested, tail feathers black, but the two outer white on their exterior edges. Length about seven inches, and expanse of wing ten inches and a half. The number o feathers which compose the crest, varies from seven to ten; and the bird can lower them at pleasure. The male has a larger head and stronger bill than the female, and more black on the breast. In both the tongue is large, and slightly forked. Native of the continent of Europe; from Russia to Greece, but not of Great Britain. Accord ing to Vieillot, it has been seen in Egypt. In winter, it frequents the margins of streams and highways, and may sometimes be seen among a flight of sparrows, picking the undigested grains from horses' dung, &c. • Its most ordinary haunts are •fields, and meadows, the banks of ditches, the ridges of furrows, and sometimes the entrance to woods. Not unfrequently it affects the neighbourhood of villages, and will even enter them, and alight on dung hills, garden walls, or the roofs of houses. It does not
fly in troops, soars to a moderate height in the air, and remains a short time without alighting. It is a somewhat familiar bird, uttering Its sweet notes on the approach of man. It seldom ceases to sing in fine weather ; but rain, or a cloudy sky, often reduces it to silence. Its voice is not so powerful as that of the field-lark, but it more readi ly acquires lessons in music, so as often to forget its na tive warble ; and yet it seldom long survives a state of captivity. The female nestles on the ground, and some times in a juniper bush, very early in spring, and has two broods in the season, laying at a time four or five eggs, of a bright ash-colour, sprinkled with many brown and black spots. These birds are snared in autumn, when they are in their plumpest condition: but they have other enemies than man ; for the smallest of the rapacious birds assail them, and, when threatened with such attacks, they have been known to throw themselves on the mercy of the fowler, or to remain motionless in a furrow till they were caught by the hand.
arvensis,Lin. &c. Field Lark, or Sky Lark. Prov. Laverock. Varied with dusky-grey, reddish and white above, reddish-white beneath, with the outer webs of the two exterior tail feathers white, and the two middle ones with their edges ferruginous. Length about seven inches, stretch of the wings nearly a foot, and weight one ounce and a half. The male is somewhat larger and browner than the female; has a sort of blue collar ; more white at the tail, and the hinder claw longer. The stomach in this species is fleshy and large, when considered in rela tion to the size of the bird. The present species, whose song ushers in the spring, is too well known to require any detailed description ; but we may remark, that varie ties occasionally occur, either white, for example, or nearly so ; or dusky, or almost black, or of some of the intermediate shades. Others which have been observed in Russia, arc remarkable for the length of their legs; and Gerardin mentions his being in possession of an indi vidual, the mandibles of whose hill crossed each other, and constrained it to pick up its food in an awkward man ner. It is not improbable that some of the crearn-colour ed and hoary specimens owe their peculiarities of line to age, which produces considerable changes on the plumage of larks.