Alauda arvensis, LINNÆUS; L'alouette, BUFFON; Die Felderche,
BECHSTEIN.
This bird is very generally known. Its length is seven inches, of which
the tail contains three. The beak is weak, straight, cylindrical, and
terminating in a point; the mandibles are of an equal length, the lower
one whitish, the upper black horn colour; the iris is grayish brown; the
feet of the same colour, but yellower in the spring; the height of the
shanks is nearly an inch, and the hind claw is much longer than the hind
toe itself.
The female is distinguished by its smaller size, by the absence of the
white line round the cheeks, by the great number of black spots on the
back and breast, and by the purer white of the breast.