Page 267 - Complete Birds of Britain and Europe (DK - RSPB)

LARKS
Order Passeriformes Family Alaudidae Species Alauda arvensis
Skylark blunt, brown and

black streaked crest
whitish
grey underwings
over eye
pale-centred
cheeks
dark stripes
dark under
tail on back
wide
white whitish band along
sides to trailing edge
blackish
tail
buff
IN FLIGHT breast
closely streaked,
pale to warm white belly
tan-brown above
FLIGHT: variable, wings usually stiff, straight rear long
edge, angled front; erratic bursts of wingbeats and hind
swooping glides with wings closed. claw
idespread but declining in
Wthe face of intensive
agriculture, the Skylark is
the classic lark of European neatly
farmland as well as heaths and defined
upland grass or heather moors. It is a gorget
rather large lark, between a sparrow and
a thrush in size, and has a distinctive appearance in flight with its quite
angular, straight-edged wings and short tail. In hard weather, large flocks
may pass over by day heading for milder refuges, looking very like
flocks of Redwings (see p.308).When feeding, flocks
tend to move more loosely, looking uncoordinated in
comparison with most finch and bunting flocks.
VOICE Calls chirruping shrrup, trrup, higher seee;
song from perch or in high, soaring flight, fast, rich,
continuous outpouring, at distance sounding thinner
and high-pitched.
NESTING Grassy cup on ground, in crop or grass; SONG-FLIGHT
3–5 eggs; 2 or 3 broods;April–July. The Skylark rises vertically in song-
FEEDING Forages on ground in grass or on bare flight with constant flickering; it has
earth, eating seeds, shoots, grain, and insects. a rising hover and final steep plunge.
OCCURRENCE
SIMILAR SPECIES Widespread except in Iceland,
breeding on open moorland,
CRESTED LARK SHORT-TOED LARK WOODLARK heaths, cultivated areas in
see p.266 see p.269 see p.268 lowlands, especially cereals, and
smaller
plainer and smaller extensive pastures. In winter,
paler shorter tail widespread on arable land, with
birds from N and E Europe moving
paler on
no white breast south and west in sizeable flocks.
on wings
no white Seen in the UK
edge to wings J F M A M JJ A S O N D
Length 18–19cm (7–7 1 ⁄2in) Wingspan 30–36cm (12–14in) Weight 33–45g (1 3 ⁄16 –1 5 ⁄8oz)
Social Flocks Lifespan Up to 5 years Status Vulnerable
265