The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1904-08-10
THE SKYLARK'S SONG
AN ASTONISHING FEAT FROM MANY
POINTS OF VIEW.

OF utterance Physical SInryel
For its music alone the song OF the
lark is almost the most meodious of
any birds. The tone and quality are
admirable and the volume of sound as
tonishing. 1t can be heard clearly
when the lark has mounted. as 1t
sometimes does, beyond recognition by
normal eyesight The volume of sound
is also most noticeable when a Gagged
lark is heard, singing as it does far
nearer to the nearer than the bird in
the ". But apart from the quality
and music of the song the circum-
stances in which it is uttered render
it an astonishing feat.
Livery other considerable songster is
aware that singing entails much
physical effort. Consequently it takes
care to secure good platform to sing
from. A thrush or q blackbird or a
robin nearly always selects top shoot
or projecting bough preferably a dead
one, on which it sits and sings. never
objects round it to hinder the carry of
its voice The blackcap and nightin-
gale and some of the warblerS sit in
"A bush to sing, but the whitetlroat
and even the hedge sparrow choose
the topmost twig. The whitethroat
sometimes sings when descending, and
some of the pipits and the wood lark
n No ,,i,>
a feeble little song as it makes a short
ascent and descent.
But to the strain Oh it's lungs Of long
protracted song the lark adds the great
muscular eNertion of steady upward
flight, usually carried out not by seal!
ing the air in gentle circles, as in the
soaring of the larger birds, but by q
vertical climb made by the incessant
beating of its wings. Wordsworths
Recognition of it as the
Type of the wise who soar, but never
roam,
True to the kindred points of heaven and
home,
is often almost literally correct. After
two or three spirals the bird goes up
almost as if it We're drawn heayenward
by cord, and then, closing it's wings.
descends like a falling stone to the
very point from which it rose The
strain upon the muscles and the lungs
would be great if during all this time
it We're silent. But it chooses to add
to the eXertion of soaring that of pour
ing forth continuous flood of sweet
notes with no intermissions or breaks
whatever.
A lark will soar and sing during a
space of ten minutes consecutively. The
rApidity with which the pcctoral mus
cles are working during this period
may be judged from the fact that the
bird makes not less than from five to
six beats Of the wing per second The
beats are usually in sets Of from three
to five, the bird pauSing for moment
as il to take fresh start after the
interval. When chased by the merlin
falcon, skylarks make their finest eX-
hibitions Of fight, ascending into the
air to heights which have been esti-
mated as being not less than thou
sand feet. Sometimes the bird uses
soaring and singing, rising vertically
by incessant beats of the wing. In the
language of the falconer, these are
termed mounting" larks, and their
object is 10 outtly the hawk directly,
shaking off its pursuit during the as
cent. Others prefer to rise by flying in
spiral, which the falcon initiates
Mr. n NJi,.I,all IN b;e ,-ol,,,,., ~,
'"The Art and Practice of Hawking"
says: 1.-THE one bird may be circling
from right to left and the other from
left to right. and neither seems to guide
the direction of its rings by any refer
ence to those which the other Is max
Ing. 1t is now il struggle to see which
can get up fastest. and it is astonish-
will sometimes reach AS soon as a
lark is 500 feet high it can drop. almost
like IL stone. into any cover within a
radius Of 200 yards from the spot just
under 1t, allowance being made for the
effect of the wind. But 500 feet is not
high for a ringing flight; at least there
is nothing unusual about it. A lark
much above that height. and it Is no
extraordinary thing for 1t to do this .
The lark seldom sings late in the day.
1t can be tempted to rise in burst of
melody for one final ascent If the even
ing sun breaks through the clouds after
rain, but as Il rule it is silent long
before the sun has descended into the
western bed Of cloud. We have Mil
tons authority that it is up and in song
before dawn. But those who have
Heard the lark begin its flight
And singing startle the dull night
are not easily found. though in the
height of the pairing time it may very
possibly be beforehand with aurora in
greeting its mate. But us rule the
lark sings ut sunrise, as the ortOlan
eats. Darkness depresses it and keeps
it mute, but Il CLEAN of sun is the sig
nal for 1t TO ascend. Obviously rain
would make it most difficult for 1t to
soar, both by adding TO the weight of
lls body from the moisture caught in
the ieothers and by Wet,inw the webs