For other uses see Skylark (disambiguation).

Skylark
: Animalia : Chordata : Aves : Passeriformes : Alaudidae : Alauda : arvensis
Binomial name
Alauda arvensis Linnaeus, 1758

The Skylark (Alauda arvensis) breeds across most of Europe and Asia and in the mountains of north Africa. It is mainly resident in the west of its range, but eastern populations of this passerine bird 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 was also introduced in Hawaii and western North America.

This is a bird of open farmland and heath, familiar throughout its range, not least for its song, delivered non-stop in flight from heights of 100 m or more when the bird itself is just a dot in the sky.

Like most other larks, this is an undistinguished looking species on the ground, mainly brown above and pale below, and with a short blunt erectile crest. In flight it shows a short tail and short broad wings. The tail and the rear edge of the wings are edged with white.

The nest is on the ground, with 3-6 eggs being laid. Food is seeds supplemented with insects in the breeding season.

The Skylark has been the subject of many songs and poems; the best known is probably Percy Bysshe Shelley's Ode on a Skylark, which begins with the familiar quotation:

Hail to thee, blithe spirit!

Bird thou never wert!