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 Skylark Alauda arvensis L 18. Very common breeding bird in open country, cultivated as well as natural (arable land, coastal meadows etc). Terrestrial. Rather pale brown-spotted with whitish trailing edge to wing and medium-length white-edged tail. Has small crest (Crested Lark has much longer and more pointed crest. Other rather similar species are Woodlark, Calandra Lark and Corn Bunting, which see). Juveniles wear a scaly patterned plumage until late summer, and lack pale trailing edge to wing. Usual call is a dry, full chirrup, 'prriee' and 'prreet' etc. The song is an endless outpouring based on high rolling notes repeated in long series, often containing notes of mimicry. It starts up as early as the first hours of dawn (mass starting up, strikingly simultaneous) and can then be heard all day. It generally begins on the ground or from a fence post but is usually performed for the most part high in the sky, for 10-15 minutes without stopping. The lark at this time hangs still on fluttering wings difficult to detect. Towards late summer the larks become silent. During the autumn loose flocks can be flushed on the stubble fields. In winter larger flocks are present, and in severe weather sometimes huge flocks and massive migratory movements may occur. RSWP
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