THE CRESTED LARK
Alauda cristata, Linnæus; Le Cochevis, ou la grosse Alouette huppée; Die Haubenlerche, Bechstein
This bird is stronger than the sky-lark, and its colour is lighter, but its length the same. The beak is lead-coloured, and brown at the point, is also rather longer; the iris is dark brown. The shanks are an inch high, and yellowish gray; the head, the cheeks, the upper part of the neck to the upper part of the back, are of a reddish gray, caused by the wide red edges of the feathers, which are brown in the middle; a reddish white line, hardly perceptible above the eyes, but very distinct beyond, extends from the nostrils to the ears; eight or ten long-pointed blackish feathers rising on the head form a beautiful perpendicular crest.
The crest of the female is lower, but her breast is covered with more numerous and rounder spots than the male.
Habitation. – When wild it is only in autumn and winter that they appear in Saxony in small or large flights, beside the high roads, on dunghills, near barns and stables, among sparrows and yellowhammers; they are also found all over Europe, from Sweden to Italy
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They are not natives of Britain. – Translator.
; in summer, they frequent the thickets and bushes of the plains, fields, and meadows, or they inhabit the hollows of ditches, paths in woods, and elevated villages. They depart in October.
In the house they may be kept in cages, like the sky-lark, or be left to run about. I know no bird whose feathers grow so quickly; if the wings are kept clipped, this must be repeated every three or four weeks, as by that time they are so much grown that they may serve for flying about the room.
Food. – When wild this bird lives, like the sky-lark, on insects, different sorts of seeds, and oats. In the house it is fed with the same things, but it becomes more robust and healthy than the sky-lark.
Breeding. – This species forms its nest on the ground, under little dry bushes, under garden vegetables, on clay walls, and even on thatched roofs. The eggs, in number from four to five, are of a rusty gray, shaded and spotted at the upper end with dark brown. The first plumage of the young before moulting is variegated white. They are taken from the nest when the feathers are half grown to be tamed and taught airs, or to have them instructed by other birds whose song is admired; they learn every thing with the greatest ease.
Diseases. – They are the same as those of other larks. A lousy disease may be added. I possess two male crested larks, one of which has hardly any of the lice which so commonly torment birds, whilst the other, which is nevertheless as gay and musical, is so covered with them that he cannot be touched without having the hand filled with these nasty insects. He has been with me four years, and though he has maintained for a long time millions of these parasites, he continues in good health, which I attribute to his abundant supply of good food.
Is this produced by a difference in the cleanly dispositions of these two birds, or is it a constitutional difference?
Mode of Taking. – When, in winter, any spot has been remarked which the larks prefer, a place must be cleared from snow, some oats and poppy-seed be thrown upon it for a bait, and limed twigs, nets, or even a simple gauze, be conveniently arranged, and soon plenty will be caught.
Attractive Qualities. – The song of the crested lark is, in my opinion, very inferior to that of the sky-lark; it seems composed of the warbling of that and of the linnet; this bird sings also in the night. Its time of singing lasts from February to August, but longer in those birds which have been tamed from the nest. It has not the tottering gait of the sky-lark, but runs nimbly, and moves its crest in the most expressive way. It is rather quarrelsome, and has the peculiarity that when it fights it continues to sing.
THE WOOD-LARK
Alauda arborea, Linnæus; Le Cujelier, ou L’Llouette des Bois, ou La Loulou, Buffon; Die Waldlerche, Bechstein
This charming species is one-third smaller than the field-lark, and resembles it much in form and gait. The beak is black above, brown below, tending to carnation at the tip. The shanks, three quarters of an inch high, are of a brownish flesh-colour. The top of the head is reddish brown, with four dark brown lines; its long feathers render the head large, and they may be raised at pleasure into a crest, which from eye to eye is surrounded by a whitish ash-coloured line. The tail is very short.
The female, more beautiful, is of a paler ground, with darker ornaments; her breast more spotted; the crest on her head more prominent, and the line round the cheeks more distinct. It is a well attested observation made on all our indigenous species, that the individuals with the most spots on a lighter ground, and of a clearer white, are certainly females.
Habitation. – When wild these birds inhabit the temperate regions of Europe, in summer the woods of the plain, near fields and meadows, and in the woods of the hills they alternate between heaths and pasture lands. After breeding time they assemble in small flocks of ten or twelve. They are thus found in the stubble, at their departure in October, and their return in March.
In the house I prefer letting them run about, because my experience shows that they sing better in this way than when caged. They must be well supplied with river sand, as well to roll and dust themselves as to pick out grains necessary for their digestion.
Food. – When wild, in summer, the food consists of insects; in autumn, of rape, millet, seed, and oats; in spring, before they can find insects and worms, they are satisfied with the young buds of herbs, water-cresses, and, on an emergency, with the buds of the filbert.
In the house, as this species is more delicate than the preceding, it is well to vary the food, and to give it occasionally, independent of the universal paste, poppy-seed, oats, hemp, sprouting wheat, fresh curds, fresh and dried ants’ eggs, minced ox heart, meal worms, and the like. When one of these birds is caught by the net or otherwise, the best things to induce it to eat when it reaches the bird-room are poppy-seeds and ants’ eggs.
I have seen two wood-larks which had been kept in a cage for eight years, very healthy and gay, with their feet quite free from disease, and singing perfectly. Their food consisted of crumbs of white bread and pounded hemp-seed mixed together; a piece of white bread, enough for the day, soaked in milk, which was poured boiling over it every morning, was also furnished; and finally, some ants’ eggs, given two or three times a day as a treat. The bottom of the cage was also covered with sand, which was changed regularly every day, as well as the water. They were always kept in summer outside the window, exposed to the free air, screening them from the sun by covering the top of the cage with a sheet of paper or piece of linen by way of parasol. The success of this mode of treatment sufficiently proves its advantage. The cage was furnished with two bars, because the wood-lark perches.
Breeding. – The wood-lark builds among the heath, under juniper bushes, in hedges, high grass, or under a green hillock in fields near the woods, or in copse wood. The nest is made of dry blades of grass, mixed with moss, wool, and hair. The eggs are variegated with light gray and brownish violet. The young may be bred up with bread soaked in milk, and ants’ eggs. They readily learn the different songs of the birds with which they are imprisoned; but this medley is less agreeable to me than their natural song.
Diseases. – To the list of diseases already given, to which the wood-lark may be subject, I must add one which is peculiar to it. This attacks the feet and renders them extremely brittle. I cannot too strongly recommend to clean them carefully from everything which might entangle them; a single hair may cut them, so that the toes shrivel, or ulcerate and fall off. They become so brittle with age, that with all my cares I could never keep any beyond four years; the least thing breaks them. Most of the wood-larks which I have had perished from broken legs; and this peculiarity I have remarked in no other species of bird.
We see from these instances, that if birds allowed to hop about a room enjoy more space and free exercise, they are also subject to more inconveniences and disadvantages than caged birds. Their food is neither so appropriate or regular; they cannot be kept so clean; their feet are almost inevitably injured; and lice devour them, without the power of prevention.
Mode of Taking. – The wood-lark may be caught on the nest by means of limed twigs; but as it is very cruel to separate a pair, and thus to destroy a whole family, it is better to wait till autumn, and to use the night-net. They may be caught early in the spring, when there is snow on the ground, by placing limed twigs or nets in cleared places. This is the best method of catching them. It is true that this plan will not succeed in all years; but another may be substituted, if we have a decoy wood-lark, by placing it under a folding net, in a field frequented by a flight of this species, which will not fail to join it. The same means also may be used as with the chaffinch, namely, by tying the wings of a wood-lark with a limed twig on his back, and letting him run to the place where there is a male of the same species. By this means the bird-fancier may obtain whatever kind of singer he prefers.
Attractive Qualities. – Of all the species of larks the wood lark has the finest song, and to my taste it is, of all our indigenous birds (always excepting the nightingale), the one whose natural notes are the most delightful. Its clear flute-like voice executes a sonorous, tender, and somewhat melancholy air. In the country it rises from the tops of the trees so high in the air that the eye can scarcely discern it, and there remaining stationary, the wings and the tail expanded, it sings uninterruptedly for hours together; it sings in the same manner when perched on a tree.
In the house, it is from a retired corner, tranquil and motionless, that it utters the different modulations of its beautiful voice. The singing time in its wild state is from March to July; in the house, from February to August. The female, like other larks, sings also, but her strains are shorter and less sustained. These birds appear to be subject to whims: I have seen some which would never sing in a room or in the presence of an auditor. These perverse birds must be placed in a long cage outside the window. I have remarked that in general these obstinate birds are the best singers. Their abrupt step and various frolics, in which they raise the feathers of the head and neck, are also very amusing.
THE TITLARK
Anthus arboreus, Bechstein; L’Llouette 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
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I possessed a fine one which died from lice. – Translator.
.
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.
THE FIELD PIPIT
Anthus campestris, Bechstein; La Spipolette, Buffon; Die Brachpieper, Bechstein
In figure it is more slender than the sky-lark; the plumage resembles that of the crested lark, and the form that of the titlark. Its length is six inches and a half. The beak is strong and long, the line above the eyes distinctly marked, the breast yellowish white, with but few rays or lines. In summer it frequents marshy woods, in autumn the edges of the fields, high roads, and meadows, where it may be easily caught with the night-net. Its only known song is its constant cry “
tsirru
” and “
datsida
” while revolving in the air. It departs in September and returns in April. Its food is the same as that of the titlark; it also requires the same treatment when in confinement if it should be wished to keep it, but it has no qualities to make this desirable.
THE SHORE LARK
Alauda alpestris, Linnæus; Alouette Haussecol noir, ou Alouette de Virginie, Buffon; Die Berglerche, Bechstein
This species is seven inches long, rather stronger than the field pipit, and has the same plumage on the upper part of the body; but the throat is light yellow, as well as the rest of the under part of the neck, over which and the top of the breast passes a black band, which in the lower part is shaped like a horse-shoe. The beak, feet, and claws, are black.
Observations. – This s