The Eurasian Skylark (Alauda arvensis) is a small brown bird, larger than a sparrow but smaller than a starling. It has a beautiful song that radiates as the bird flutters in the air – rivalled only by the nightingale. Most birds sing from around 50m and few ever go beyond 200m. Songs generally last a couple of minutes with up to 400-plus syllables. Skylarks invariable start singing before dawn, so their voice is the first to be heard in the dawn chorus. The Victorians liked to keep male larks as songbirds, and a good singer would fetch as much as 15 shillings. In its characteristic flight, the bird rises up, singing, and hovers at the same point for some time. Then it soars really high and stops singing and once that is done, when it wants to come down it just falls back to the ground.
