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Skylark

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Birds

                     iSkylark

                             Conservation status

   Least Concern (LC)
            Scientific classification

   Kingdom: Animalia
   Phylum:  Chordata
   Class:   Aves
   Order:   Passeriformes
   Family:  Alaudidae
   Genus:   Alauda
   Species: A. arvensis

                                Binomial name

   Alauda arvensis
   Linnaeus, 1758

   The Skylark (Alauda arvensis) is a small passerine bird species. They
   breed across most of Europe and Asia and in the mountains of north
   Africa. They are mainly resident in the west of its range, and eastern
   populations of are more migratory, moving further south in winter. Even
   in the milder west of its range, many birds move to lowlands and the
   coast in winter. Asian birds appear as vagrants in Alaska; this bird
   has also been introduced in Hawaii and western North America.

Description

   Skylarks are 16 to 18 cm long. They are birds of open farmland and
   heath. They are known throughout their range for the song of the male
   birds, which is delivered in hovering flight from heights of 50 to 100
   meters, when a bird itself may be appear to be just a dot in the sky
   from the ground. The song generally lasts 2 to 3 minutes, but it tends
   to last longer later in the season. The males have broader wings than
   the females. This adaptation for more efficient hovering flight has
   probably evolved owing to female birds' preference for males that hover
   and sing for longer periods - probably as an indicator of overall
   fitness.

   Like most other larks, the Skylark is a rather dull-looking species on
   the ground being mainly brown above and paler below. They have a short
   blunt crest on their heads, which can be raised or lowered. In flight
   they show a short tail and short broad wings. The tail and the rear
   edge of the wings are edged with white, which are visible when they are
   flying away, but not if they are flying towards the observer. They
   spend a lot of time on the ground looking for food and they have sturdy
   legs. They feed on seeds supplemented with insects in the breeding
   season.

   The skylark makes a grass nest on the ground. Generally the nests are
   very difficult to find, hidden between foliage. 3 to 6 eggs are laid in
   June. A second or third brood may be started later in the year. The
   eggs are yellow/white with brownish/purple spots mainly at the large
   end.

Farming stewardship and conservation

   In the UK skylark numbers have declined over the last 30 years, as
   determined by the Common Bird Census started in the early 1960s by The
   British Trust for Ornithology. There are now only 10% of the numbers
   that were present 30 years ago. The RSPB have shown that this massive
   decline is mainly due to changes in farming practices and only partly
   due to pesticides. In the past cereals were planted in the spring,
   grown through the summer and harvested in the early autumn. Cereals are
   now planted in the autumn, grown through the winter and are harvested
   in the early summer. The winter grown fields are much too dense in
   summer for the skylarks to be able to walk and run between the wheat
   stems to find their food.

   Farmers are now encouraged and paid to maintain biodiversity and they
   can get a few points (toward DEFRAs Entry Level Stewardship financial
   rewards) for improving the habitat for Skylarks.

   The RSPB's research of winter-planted wheat fields over the last 6
   years has shown that suitable nesting areas for the Skylark can be made
   by turning the seeding machine off (or lifting the drill) for a 5 to 10
   metres stretch as the tractor goes over the ground to briefly stop the
   seeds being sown. This is repeated in several areas within the same
   field to make about 2 skylark plots per hectare. Subsequent spraying
   and fertilizing can be continuous over the entire field. DEFRA suggests
   that skylark plots should not be nearer than 24 meters to the perimeter
   of the field, should not be near to telegraph poles, and should not
   enclosed by trees.

   When the crop grows the skylark plots (areas without crop seeds) become
   areas of low vegetation where Skylarks can easily hunt insects and
   where skylarks can build well-hidden ground nests. These areas of low
   vegetation are just right for Skylarks, but the wheat in the rest of
   the field becomes too closely packed and too tall for the Skylarks to
   hunt on the ground for their food. At the RSPB's research farm in
   Cambridgeshire the Skylark numbers have increased three fold (from 10
   pairs to 30 pairs) over 6 years. Fields where Skylarks were seen the
   year before (or near by) would be obvious good sites for skylark plots.
   Farmers have reported that skylark plots are easy to make and the RSPB
   hope that this simple effective technique can be copied nationwide.

Skylark in culture

   A traditional collective noun for skylarks is an "exaltation". Although
   the OED describes this usage as "fanciful", it traces it back to a
   quotation from John Lydgate dating from about 1430.

   The skylark has featured in many songs, poems and other works of
   literature and art.
     * In the Fleetwood Mac song " Rhiannon", Stevie Nicks sings about the
       title character that:

          She rules her life like a fine skylark

     * Percy Bysshe Shelley's well known poem "To a Skylark" begins:

          Hail to thee, blithe spirit!
          Bird thou never wert!

     * The poem "The Lark Ascending" of 112 lines by George Meredith
       inspired the orchestral music also called " The Lark Ascending" by
       Ralph Vaughan Williams.

     * Johnny Mercer was the lyricist, and Hoagy Carmichael the composer
       for the popular song "Skylark".

     * Skylark was also the title of the sequel to Sarah, Plain and Tall.
       Patricia MacLachlan was the author of both books.

     * The children's song " Alouette" is about plucking a skylark
       (alouette is the French word for skylark).

     * The Montreal Alouettes are a Canadian football team named after the
       bird and the song.

     * Skylark is the name of the French racing team on the anime series
       IGPX.

   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skylark"
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   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
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