Black and white varieties are sometimes seen.

The nest is placed on the ground, and often under

the shelter of a tuft of grass; the eggs are four or five, and whitish-gray. The poet says:

"The daisied lea he loves, where tufts of grass
Luxuriant crown the ridge; there, with his mate,
He founds his lowly house, of withered bents
And coarsest spear-grass; next, the inner work
With finer and still finer fibers lays,
Rounding its corners with his speckled breast."

This species feeds on insects, larvæ, ants' eggs, and various kinds of small seeds. Its flesh ranks among the greatest of delicacies; traps and nets of many kinds are employed for its capture. It is sedentary in Middle and Southern Europe, and begins its song early in the spring, and contines it till late in the autumn, generally singing while rising or falling perpendicularly in the air, although its joyous notes are occasionally poured forth while sitting on the ground. So powerful is the voice lodged in this little body, that its sound may be heard long after the songster is quite out of sight; and even then a practiced ear can distinguish those peculiarities in the song which mark whether the bird is still rising, or stationary, or gradually descending. The Lark sings for about eight months in the year, and as his notes are remarkable for their power and vivacity, he is a great favorite as a cage-bird. In the summer his lay commences before three o'clock in the morning, and continues till after sunset. He is also very long-lived; Yarrell mentions an instance of one of these birds living in a cage for nineteen years and a half.

Mudie notices a correspondence between the movements of the lark, when it climbs up to the sky by its winding flight, and its notes, as follows: "When the volutions of the spiral are narrow,

and the bird changes its attitude rapidly in proportion to the whole quantity of flight, the song is partially suppressed, and it swells as the spiral widens, and sinks as it contracts; so that, though the notes may be the same, it is only when the lark sings poised at the same height that it sings in a uniform key. It gives a swelling song as it ascends, and a sinking one as it comes down; and even if it take but one wheel in the air, as that wheel always includes an ascent or a descent, it varies the pitch of the song.

"The song of the lark, besides being a most accessible and delightful subject for common observation, is a very curious one for the physiologist. Every one in the least conversant with the structure of birds must be aware that, with them, the organs of intonation and modulation are inward, deriving little assistance from the tongue, and none, or next to none, from the mandibles of the bill. The windpipe is the musical organ, and is often very curiously formed. Birds require that organ less for breathing than other animals having a windpipe and lungs, because of the air-cells and breathing-tubes with which all parts of their bodies—even their bones—are furnished. But those diffused breathing-organs must act with least freedom when the bird is making the greatest efforts in motion-that is, when ascending or descending; and in proportion as they cease to act, the trachea is the more required for the purposes of breathing. The sky-lark thus converts the atmosphere into a musical instrument of many stops, and so produces an exceedingly wild and varied song-a song which is perhaps not equal, either in power or compass, in the single stave, to that of many of the warblers, but one which is more varied in the whole succession. All birds that sing ascending or descending have similar power, but the sky-lark has it in a degree superior to every other."

Main says: "No bird sings with more method: there is an overture performed, vivace crescendo, while the singer ascends; when at the full height, the song becomes moderato, and distinctly divided into short passages, cach repeated three or four times over, like a fantasia, in the same key and tune. If there be any wind, he rises perpendicularly by bounds, and afterward poises himself with breast opposed to it. If calm, he ascends in spiral circles; in horizontal circles during the principal part of his song, and zigzagly downward during the performance of the finale. Sometimes, after descending about half way, he ceases to sing, and drops with the velocity of an arrow to the ground. Those acquainted with the song of the sky-lark can tell, without looking at them, whether the birds be ascending or stationary in the air, or on their descent, so different is the style of the song in each case. In the first, there is an expression of ardent impatience; in the second, an andante composure, in which rests of a bar at a time frequently occur; and in the last, a graduated sinking of the strains, often touching the subdominant before the final close. The time and number of the notes often correspond with the vibration of the wings; and though they sometimes sing while on the ground, as they are seen to do in cages, their whole frame seems to be agitated by their musical efforts.”

The strong attachment of this species to their young has been the subject of remark by many naturalists: Mr. Blyth records that "some mowers actually shaved off the upper part of a nest of the sky-lark without injuring the female which was sitting on her young; still she did not fly away, and the mowers levelled the grass all around her without her taking further notice of their proceedings. A young friend of mine, son of the owner of the crop, witnessed this, and about an hour afterward went to see if she was safe, when, to his great surprise, he found that she had actually constructed a dome of dry grass over the nest during the interval, leaving an aperture on one side for ingress and egress, thus endeavoring to secure a continuance of the shelter previously supplied by the long grass."

To no bird, perhaps not even the nightingale, have the English poets paid such frequent homage as to the sky-lark; from Chaucer downward, there is scarcely one of them who has not repaid the ecstatic music of that "bard of the blushing dawn”—the "herald of the morn," as Shakspeare hath it—with a strain as full of gladness and melody; and not from the poets only has it received these tributes of admiration: grave divines, such as Jeremy Taylor and Bishop Hall, have made it the theme of their high discourse; the former says that "it did rise and sing as if it had learned. music and motion from an angel." Wordsworth's lines, though often quoted, are so descriptive, and yet so poetical, that we cannot omit them:

The CRESTED LARK-Alouette Cochevis of the French-A. cristata, is six and three-quarter inches long; brown above and pale yellow beneath. The crest of a few elongated feathers pointing backward, is reddish-brown. It visits Northern Europe in summer, is sedentary in Southern Europe, and is common in Northern Africa. It feeds on worms and grain, and may be often seen on the roads near Paris picking among the manure, and flying at the approach of a traveler.

The WOOD-LARK-Alouette lulu of the French-A. arborea, has a slight crest, is over six inches long, wood-brown above, pale yellowish-brown beneath. Its song is greatly admired, and is often poured forth at evening, as if in rivalry of the nightingale.

"What time the timorous hare trips forth to feed,
When the scared owl skims round the grassy mead,
Then high in air, and poised upon its wings,
Unseen the soft-enamored wood-lark sings."

Blyth says: "In hot summer nights wood-larks soar to a prodigious height, and hang singing in the air." Bechstein says: "The wood-lark not only excels all other larks in the beauty of its song, but, in my opinion, surpasses in this respect all German birds whatever, except the chaffinch and the nightingale. Its tones are flute-like, and the varying phrases of its song have all a melancholy and tender expression. It sings either perched on the top of a trec, or flies upward almost beyond the reach of sight, and remains poised on its outstretched wings, often warbling for an hour together. In confinement it always sings on its perch."

The SHORT-TOED LARK, A. brachydactyla, is a small species, five inches long, of a sandy-brown above, beneath whitish; common in Southern Europe. The SHORE-LARK, A. alpestris, is six inches long, and found in the north of Europe and Asia. Specimens have been occasionally met with as far south as France and England.

The HORNED LARK, A. cornuta, is an American bird, until lately confounded with the preceding; it is seven inches long; the male has an erectile crest; color, dusky brown above; breast reddish-brown; the nest placed on the ground; the eggs olive-white. This is a beautiful species, and one of our winter birds of passage, arriving from the north in the fall, usually staying with us the whole winter, frequenting sandy plains and open downs, and is numerous in the Southern States, as far as Georgia, during that season. They fly high, in loose, scattered flocks, and at these times have a single cry, like the sky-lark. They are very numerous in many tracts of New Jersey, and are frequently brought to Philadelphia market. They are then generally very fat, and are considered excellent eating. Their food seems principally to consist of small, round, compressed black seeds, buckwheat, oats, &c., with a large proportion of gravel. They are said to have a pleasing song.

Other American species are the BROWN LARK, A. rufa, six inches long; brown-olive above; brownish-ochre beneath; habits similar to the preceding; the 4. minor, found in Texas; and the A. Spraguei, found on the upper Missouri.

These birds greatly resemble the grosbeaks in some respects, and especially in the size and

form of the heads and bills; they occur in both hemispheres, principally in temperate countries, and feed upon seeds, the hardest shells of which are seldom able to resist the force of their firm, strong bills. Genus PYRRHULA: Pyrrhula.-The COMMON BULL-FINCH of Europe-Bouvreuil of the French; Gimpel of the Germans-P. Vulgaris is seven inches long; the top of the head and the under part of the chin a velvety black; the throat, back, and shoulders gray; the rump white; the breast crimson; the lower parts white. There are white, black, and speckled varieties; hybrids with canaries are often produced. It is a robust and clumsy-looking bird; conceals its nest in furze or hedges; lays from two to six bluish-white eggs; feeds on seeds of ash, maple, beech, and furze; also on the seeds of weeds and grasses, and on the buds of trees, thus often doing great damage. On account of this habit it is called Pick-a-bud in England, where it is also called Coal-hood, Red-hoop, Tony-hoop, Alp, Pope, Nope, &c. In confinement it is a docile bird, and though its natural note is harsh as the creaking of a door or wheelbarrow, it may be trained to whistle many airs in a soft, pure, and flute-like tone. It is very common in England, and we see it often referred to in English books it is found throughout Europe at all

The PINE BULL-Finch or Pine Grosbeak-the Bouvreuil Duc-bec of the French; P. enucleator of Yarrell; the Corythus enucleator of Audubon and De Kay—is eight and a half inches long; general colors bright carmine, with a vermilion tinge; that of the female yellowish-brown above; beneath ash-gray. It is found in the northern parts of both continents. It resembles the bull-finches in its form, and the cross-bills in some of its habits. It feeds on the seeds and buds of various kinds of trees; builds a nest of sticks on the branch of a tree, lining it with feathers; the eggs are four or five. It breeds in this country from Maine northward; in severe seasons it comes southward in small flocks, sometimes abundantly as far as Massachusetts, and more rarely as far as Pennsylvania. The appearance of a flock of these birds, the males with their splendid red attire, and the females with their more sober but still beautiful plumage, is quite striking. They are excellent food. The male has a pleasing song, and in confinement will often sing at night.

Genus LOXIA: Loxia. To this belong the COMMON EUROPEAN CROSS-BILL-Bec croisé of the French-L. curvirostra, which has a strong bill, the mandibles of which are crescent-shaped, and cross each other at the points. It inhabits the northern regions of Europe, and lives principally in the forests of fir; it feeds on pine-cones, and also on the seeds and nuts of other trees, its bill enabling it to break the shells of these with facility. It is nearly seven inches long, and is subject to great changes of color, the males of a year old being red, and those that are older. of a greenish-yellow, spotted with white, and having a grayish tinge over the whole plumage. These birds move southward in winter, and are periodically seen in considerable flocks in England. VOL. II.-23