1. _The white lark_, which is either clear white or yellowish white. He
is occasionally found wild.
2. _The black lark._ The whole body of this variety is black with a
rusty tinge, and the belly feathers are edged with white. I am ignorant
whether this variety has ever been found wild; but it is not uncommon in
dwelling houses, especially when the cages are fixed in a dark place
where the rays of the sun cannot penetrate; in moulting, their colour
passes away to give place to the primitive plumage, which never happens
to the white variety.
HABITATION.--In a wild state, the sky-lark is found almost all over
the world, frequenting fields and meadows, and by preference plains.
It is a bird of passage which generally arrives in our regions in the
beginning of February, and departs in great flights in the month of
October[60]. No bird of passage returns so soon as the lark; but as
it lives not only on insects, but eats all kinds of seeds and even
grass, it can seldom be in want of provision even in the severest
weather.
[Illustration]
In rooms, it is common to let it hop about, giving it a retired
corner to sleep; it is, however, also kept in cages, where it sings
best. Whatever form may be given to these cages, they must be at
least eighteen inches long, nine wide, and fifteen high; the bottom
should have a drawer in which enough of river sand should be kept for
this scratching bird to be able to roll and dust itself conveniently.
It is also a good plan to have in a corner a little square of fresh
turf, which is as beneficial as it is agreeable. The top of the cage
must be of linen, since, from its tendency to rise for flight, it
would run the risk of wounding its head against a covering of wood or
iron wire, especially before it is well tamed. The vessels for food
and drink must be outside, or, which I prefer, a drawer for the food
may be introduced in the side of the cage: sticks are not necessary,
as the lark does not perch. When it is allowed to hop free in a room,
the latter must be very clean and neat, otherwise a thread or hair
may entangle the feet, and if not removed it easily cuts the skin,
maims the bird, and the entangled toes shrink and fall off.
FOOD.--When wild, the food consists of insects, especially ants' eggs;
also of all kinds of seeds, and in autumn of oats, which these birds
skin by striking them against the ground, their beak being too weak
to shell them alone. In the spring the sprouting seeds and young
buds, also the blades of young grass, are eaten, and grains of sand
help their digestion.
In the house, if the lark is hopping about, nothing is better than
the first universal paste described in the Introduction; but if caged
the second will suit it better. Poppy-seed, bruised hemp, crumb of
bread, and plenty of greens, as lettuce, endive, cabbage, or
water-cress, according to the season, must be added. A little lean
meat and ants' eggs are favourite delicacies, which make it gay and
more inclined to sing. When old larks are first made prisoners, they
must be fed only with oats and poppy-seed to reconcile them to
captivity.
BREEDING.--The lark lays but once a year in cold countries, twice in
the temperate, and three times in the warmer climates. Its nest,
formed on the ground in a little hollow, is made without much art of
straw, and the wool and hair of animals, and by preference in hollow
ground or among the summer crops of grain. The eggs, in number from
three to five, are of a whitish gray, spotted and dotted with dark
gray; incubation lasts fourteen days. By the end of April the young
are often hatched, and are at first only fed with insects, and leave
the nest before they can fly; but they nevertheless continue to be
fed by the mother till they can follow her in her excursions. Before
the first moulting all the upper part of the body is dotted with
white; if it is wished to take nestlings, they must be removed from
the nest when the tail is about three quarters of an inch long. They
are fed with crumb of white bread, and poppy-seed steeped in milk;
some ants' eggs or a little minced lean meat will be a wholesome
addition. The males are soon distinguished by their yellow colour. If
it is intended to teach them to perform a tune, their instructor must
commence before they are ready to fly, for by that time they already
begin to record their natural song. They must also be completely
separated from other singing birds, otherwise the great flexibility
of their organs, joined to their memory, will infallibly cause them
to adopt the song of such birds as they are near; and even old larks,
brought into my bird-room, have learnt to imitate perfectly the
nightingale and chaffinch. They vary, however, very much in this
respect. Some females in confinement lay without the presence of a
male, and others pair, but I have never yet succeeded in making them
sit. One of my neighbours, notwithstanding the greatest care, has
succeeded no better, though he had a female which laid from twenty to
twenty-five eggs annually. There would undoubtedly be a better chance
of success in a large garden aviary[61].
DISEASES.--Besides those which have been named in the Introduction,
these birds are very subject to a kind of scurf or yellow crust round
the base of the beak. The best remedy is to take care that they have
good food; the second universal paste agrees with them particularly
well; but greens, ants' eggs, meal-worms, or other insects, must be
added. With this food they may be preserved healthy for many years in
the house. Instances have been known of larks which have lived in
this way for thirty years.
MODE OF TAKING.--It would take too long a time to describe all the
modes of catching larks which are in use. It is enough to say that
with day and night nets, known by the name of lark nets, so large a
number of these birds are taken alive in the open country, that it is
easy to have a choice of both males and females. This lark snaring is
accomplished by placing a considerable number of nets perpendicularly
like walls, which are called day-nets, towards which, in the dusk,
the birds are forced by means of a long rope, which is drawn along
the ground, and drives them forward; in the night a square net called
a night-net is carried to a spot where it is known that many larks
are collected in the stubble, and there they are covered just when
they begin to flutter.
If, in the spring, it is wished to procure a good singing male, for
some are better than others, a lark whose wings are tied, and with a
little forked lime-twig fixed to its back, must be carried to the
place where such a bird is to be found. As soon as it is let loose,
and the desired male has perceived it from high in the air, he will
fall upon it like an arrow and attack it; but soon, the dupe of his
jealousy, he will find himself caught by the lime.
ATTRACTIVE QUALITIES.--The very pleasing song of the sky-lark consists
of several stanzas or strains, composed entirely of trills and
flourishes, interrupted from time to time by loud whistling. I have
already said that the lark has great abilities for learning. The
young readily imitate the notes of all the birds in the same room
with them, and the old sometimes succeed also: this, however, is not
general; for among birds as among men, memories vary in power. Some
have a stronger and more melodious voice; there are some which, in
confinement, begin to sing as early as December, and continue till
they moult; while others, less lively, delay till the month of March,
and cease to sing in the month of August. In its wild state, the lark
begins to sing in the first fine days of spring, the season of
pairing, and ceases at the end of July; this, however, is not without
exceptions, as some individuals continue till the end of September.
It belongs to the small number of birds which sing as they fly, and
the higher it rises the more it appears to elevate its voice, so that
it may be heard when it is out of sight. In the country, it very
seldom sings when on the ground; in the room it often does, and with
ease, and it becomes so tame as to come and eat from the table or the
hand.