Litchfield enquirer., 1881-02-17
The English Sky-Lark in America.

John Burroughs, the well-known English author, is writing 8 series of interesting pa- pers for for Scribner's Monthly, under the title of ''NOtes of Walker" From the,con- tribution to the February number we make the following extract:
 My note book of the past season is enriched with the unusual incident of an English sky lark in full song above the Esopus meadows was poking about marshy place in low field one morning in early May, when through the maze of bird voices: laughter of robbins, call of meadow -larks, song of bobolinks, ditty of sparrowa, whistle of orioles. twitter of spar sows. ect.. with which the air was filled, my ear suddenly caught an unfamiliar strain. paused to listen; can it be possible, thought, that hear a lark, or am 1 dreaming. The song came from the air, above wide, low meadow many hundred yards away. With drawing 6 few paces to more elevated posi- tion, bent my eye and ear eagerly in that direction. q Yes, that unstinted. jubilant, null titudinous song can be- none other than the lark's ,s Any of our native sopgsters would have ceased while was listening. Presently was fort unate. enough to catch sight of the bird. He had reached his climax in the sky and was hanging with quivering wings be- neath-a small white ~cloud-against wfich his. form Wss cleaflyA reEealed. T hadseensahd- heard the lark in England, else should still have been inl doubt about the identity, of this singer. While was climbing fence was obliged to take my eye from the bird, and when looked again the song had ceased and thslark had gone. was soon in the mead. Z 6w above which had heard him, and the first. .bifd flushed was the lark. I S & A How strange he looked to my eye q use the masculine gender because it was a male bird: but an lrishman working in the field, to whom related my story, spoke touchingiy ofthe bird as ''she" and 1 notice that the old poets do the same, )-his long, sharp wings, and something, in his manner ;-of flight that sug gested ashore bird. Ifolloweds him about4the meadow and got several snatches of song out of him, but not again the soaring flight and copious musical shower By appearing to pass by him, Iiseyeral times gotwithin afew yards of hlm as drew near he would squat in the stubble, and then suddenly start up, and when fairly launched, sing briefly till he alighted again some gHfteen or twenty rods away I came twice the next day and twice theInext, ,Lapd- each time found the lark in the meadow or heard his song from the air or the sky What was especially interesting was that the lark had singled out with affection" one of our nativesbirds. and the one that most resembled fs kind, namely the vesper spar row. or graaa finch. T6this bird F saw him paying his addresses with tEe greatest assidui. y. 1C WOuIOs A0li0Wi H 6Q0ut anu hover above it, and by many gentle indirections seek to approach it. But. thesparrew was shy, aad-evideutly did not know what ts make of her distinguished foreign lover It would sometimes take refuge in bush when the lark, not being a percher, would alight uponth ground beneath it. This sparrow looks enough like the lark to be a near rela- tioa.i Its color is precisely the same, and it has the two lateral white quils in its tail. It has the same habit of skulking in the stubble or the grass as you approach; it is exclusively field bird,. and certain of it's notes might have been copied from the lark's song In size it is about a third smaller, and this is the most marked difference between the.l With the nobler bipeds this would not have been any obstacle to the union, and in this case the lark was evidently quite ready to ignore the difference, but the sparrow persisted in say ing him nay. sItwas doubtless this obstinacv on her part that drove the lark away, for on the fifth day could not find him, and have never seen or heard him since. hope he found mate somewhere, but it is quite i'm. probable. The bird had most likely escaped from . cage. or maybe it was survivor of 8 land. There is no reason why the lark should not thrive in thiscountry as well as in Europe, and, if a few hundred were liberated in any of our 6elds in Aptil o. May F have little
 
 doubt they would soon become established And what an acquisition it would be Asa songster. the lark is deser wing of all the praise that has Dssa bestowed upon him. He would not add to the harmony nor melody of our birdrchoir,s but he would add greatly to its blithesomeness joyeusness and power His voice is the jccand end inspiring volce of a spring morning It's like musical clapping of hands. twas much interesteds n nSta ac1 count friend gave me of the first, ,sk Y lark he heard while abroad. lie had been so fllf nf the-sights.andi wonders of the Old World that he had quite sorgotten she iarks, when one day. as he was walking somewhere hesf the sea, hrowD bird started up in front of him and mounting upward began to Sing. It drew his attention and as the bird went sky- ward, pouring out his rapid and iubilant eokes. like bees from hive in swarming time. the truth suddenly flashed upon the oS.
 ',Good hesyensi" he, exclaimed. .thaf is q sky lark there is no mstaking that
 Ieis this unique aad unmistakehle charac. ter of the Iark's song. and it's fountain. like sparkle and copiousness, tbat are the main sorces Of it's charm.