Evening star., 1947-04-30
This and That
By Charles E. Trdcepell.

NATIONAL PRESS BUILDING.
| Dear Sir:
I'm newspaper clipping Of June g.
| 1908, which I found in an old book pur-
| chased recently at auction there is an
| extensive account of colony of Eng
| lish skylarks that thrived then in the
| outskirts of Brooklyn.
Thinking that matter in the article
| will prove to be of interest to others
who know more or less about birds and
like them, I am giving below a conden-
sation which hope you can use, as
follows:
MUSIC IN THE AIR.
English skylarks are singing in the
open air on the further F1atbush edge
Of Brooklyn. The skylarks frequent an
area OF earth perhaps of 80 acres and
an unmeasured space of the sky over
head. They sing not once an hour, but
almost continuously in springtime, less
frequently in midsummer and now and
then on mild, bright days even in
winter.
1.-The place is one to make an Eng
lishman homesick, with it's horizons and
its blue sky fiecked with clouds against
which the soaring birds are outlined
as mere specks.
1T is seven or eight years since the
feathered immigrants were loosed In
this spot, and they have made them
selves thoroughly at home, breeding and
taking possession of more and more of
the meadowland. Along with them are
native American field Iarks and song
sparroWs. both of which suffer as song
sters in comparison with the strangers.
En .iah hi CT e.
and the brief song Of the sparrow seem
trivial beside the long ecstacy of the
skylark.
LAS the visitor nears the spot he
hears what suggests chorus of glori-
fled canaries. Looking across the mead
oWs he sees a small, dark bird rise on
fiuttering wings and soar for a time
almost straight toward the zenith, all
the while pouring out shrill ecstacy
in which the delicious notes are hud-
died one upon another, as If the song
ster feared that life would be too short
to utter all his joy.
Perhaps the poem of George Mere
dlth on the skylark, less familiar than
those of Shelley and Wordsworth, con-
veys even better than these last the
character OF the music that sWeetens
the air over the meadows beyond Flat
bush. Meredith compares the melody
to golden chain let down from heaven
link on link and trailed upon the earth.
The flgure is somewhat material. but
1t seems to convey the unity in diver
slty that distinguishes the song
Yours very truly, A. D. T.
r. $50 far as I can learn, the
Long Island colony Of skylarks died
out many years ago, apparently from
lack OF introduction of new stock"
Birds of America" has this to say on
this subject:
Several attempts have been made
to introduce the skylark from England
into America, but all apparently have
failed.
In 1887 few seemed to have taken
up their abode in the fields near the
old village of Flatbush (now a part of
Brooklyn), on Long Island. and one
nest with young was found that year
in that vicinity.
I'm 1895 another nest and singing
bird were found in the same locality.
and according to responsible observers
the species was still represented in that
vicinity in 1907. which seems to be the
last authentic record of its appearance
in this country.
1T Is not improbable that some of
the larks may have fingered in the
Flatbush region for q few years after
the date named, but in all probability
the species u now extinct Ia AmeTscA>s