Page 266 - Complete Birds of Britain and Europe (DK - RSPB)

LARKS
Family Alaudidae
LARKS

LMOST EXCLUSIVELY GROUND birds, except
Awhen singing, larks are quite stocky but
long-bodied birds, bulkier than pipits or wagtails,
but less chunky than most finches.They have
thick, triangular bills – between the insect-eating
bill of a pipit and the seed-eating bill of a finch,
reflecting their varied diet.They fly strongly,with
quite long, often rather angular wings.
Larks have faintly short legs but long toes and
claws, especially the claws on their hind toes,
which seem to be an adaptation for walking
through grassy vegetation.They move easily
STRONG FLIER
on the ground in a quick walk or run, and feed Skylarks have large wings: these give them a slightly thrush-like look in
on open ground: the Skylark, for example, will flight but their more angular wings have a straighter rear edge.
rarely feed in the shadow of a hedge, preferring
to keep well out in the open where it has a and songs are helpful but awkward plumage
good all-round view and from where it can fly points such as underwing colour (on Crested and
in any direction. Thekla Larks) can be hard to see and structural
Being birds of open spaces, larks have no differences (such as wingtip length on Short-toed
perches from which to sing: they do sing from and Lesser Short-toed Larks) can be frustratingly
the ground or a post, but are at their best when difficult to be sure of.
singing in a special high song-flight.The Skylark
sings for minutes on end in a simple rising hover,
while the Woodlark flies in wide circles as it sings.
Plumages of males and females, winter and
summer, are usually much alike, although some
juveniles are sufficiently different to look unusual.
Some species are very difficult to identify: calls

UPSTANDING CREST
Several larks have a vestigial
crest, but two, the very similar
Crested and Thekla larks, have
obvious, triangular crests that
can be held erect. This Crested
Lark shows the sharp point well.

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