Anthus arboreus, BECHSTEIN; L'Alouette Pipi, BUFFON; Die
Waldpieper, BECHSTEIN.
This is the smallest of our larks; its length is but five inches and a
half, two and a half of which belong to the tail, which it carries and
moves like a wagtail, and by this characteristic it seems to stand
intermediate between the larks and the wagtails. The sharp beak is dark
brown above and whitish below; the iris is brown. The shanks are three
quarters of an inch high, and light flesh-coloured; the angle of the
hind toe is short and crooked. The head, rather oval than round, is,
with the neck, back, rump, and sides, of an olive brown with black wavy
spots.
The female differs from the male only in the paler yellow of the throat,
neck, and breast; the white spot in the second tail-feather is also
smaller, and the two transverse bands on the wings are whiter. The young
males of the first year have the under part of the body of a lighter
yellow than those which are older.
HABITATION.--When wild, with the exception of the most northern parts,
this species is found all over Europe. They build in great numbers in
Germany and England, in mountainous and woody places, and establish
themselves by preference on the skirts of forests, in fields, and
orchards, in their neighbourhood, or in the cleared parts of woods.
In the month of August they arrive in small flights in fields and
enclosures planted with cabbages, where caterpillars abound. In
September they pass into the oat fields, and in October they are
caught in the nets with the common larks. The time of their return is
about the end of March; and if the cold is severe they collect by
thousands in damp fields and near warm springs. One peculiarity of
this species is the having during the rest of the year a call
different from that of the breeding season. It no longer perches on
trees and bushes, but remains on the ground, crying "_pitt, pitt_,"
(or rather, I think, "_guik, guik_,") while in the sitting time the
cry is more tender, expresses more solicitude, "_tzip, tzip_," and is
heard only in the immediate neighbourhood of the nest. As soon,
therefore, as this cry strikes the ear, we may be sure the nest is
not far off; and if the young are hatched we shall soon see the
father or mother with a beakful of insects, redoubling and increasing
the cry as they approach their precious charge. The other cry of
"_pitt_" or "_guik_" is never heard at this season; whence it happens
that sportsmen and bird-catchers make two species of this same lark;
one they name the heath lark, whose call in the woods is "_tzip_,"
and the other the cabbage lark, which in the fields calls "_guik_." I
have never been able to convince these people of their error, but by
showing them in my bird-room the same lark which called "_guik_" in
the autumn and winter, and "_tzip_" in the summer. We may judge by
this circumstance how many mistakes and errors may slip into natural
history, when in the determination of species we meet with things
which we can neither see nor verify.
In confinement, I have been accustomed to let the calling lark range
freely among my other birds, because I would not trouble myself to
give it a particular cage. I own, however, that it would be better so
circumstanced, on all accounts, as well in regard to its health as
its song. This cage should be long, like that of the sky-lark, and
furnished with two sticks, because this kind perches.
FOOD.--When wild, the food consists of all sorts of flies,
grasshoppers, caterpillars, butterflies, beetles, and ants' eggs.
In confinement, as it is the most delicate of its species, the food
must be frequently changed and varied. Besides the universal paste,
we should sometimes give it the common food of the nightingale,
sometimes bruised hemp, mouldy cheese, meal worms, and ants' eggs.
It is very difficult to accustom it to take the food of the
bird-room. As soon as it arrives, we must throw it some meal worms,
ants' eggs, or caterpillars; as soon as these are eaten, some must be
mixed with the universal paste and with all its food; it will thus
insensibly grow accustomed to the common food.
This lark does not roll in the sand, and dust itself like the others,
but it thrusts its beak into water and sprinkles itself; another
indication of its approximation to the wagtail, as was mentioned
above.
BREEDING.--The titlark lays twice a year. The nest, placed on the
ground in a cleared part of the woods, or under a bush or hillock, in
a tuft of grass, in a field or orchard, is made in the simplest
manner; coarse hay outside and finer within, with some wool and hair,
are all the materials. The eggs, in number from four to five, are
gray mottled with brown; the young escape as soon as possible, having
but too many enemies to fear on the ground.
They may be brought up with ants' eggs and white bread soaked in
boiled milk, to which a few poppy-seeds are added. They easily learn
to imitate the songs of the birds in the same room with them,
especially that of the canary, without however attaining any great
perfection.
DISEASES.--Independent of those which are common to the other birds of
its species, it is particularly subject to the loss of its feathers
out of the moulting season; if it is not at once supplied with food
more nutritious, and better suited to its natural habits, as ants'
eggs, meal worms, and other insects, it soon dies of atrophy. At the
best it can only be preserved five or six years[63].
MODE OF TAKING.--To take the bird from its nest by a limed twig, and
thus destroy the young family by hunger and misery, is a cruelty
which none but a harsh insensible amateur could resolve upon. I
prefer using the night-net in autumn; this bird is also caught in the
water-trap in August and September.
ATTRACTIVE QUALITIES.--The song of the titlark, though short, and
composed of only three strains mixed with shakes and trills, is
nevertheless very pleasing. It sings from the end of March to July,
either from the top of a tree, where it is perched, or when rising
perpendicularly in the air, where it remains a few minutes and then
quietly descends, almost always to the same place. As it alights it
repeats several times "_tzia, tzia, tzia_." In the house it begins to
sing a month earlier. It pleases also by its pretty ways; its step is
somewhat grave, and the tail is in perpetual motion: it is always
very clean and trim.