Alauda arvensis

Male and female skylarks are similar. The upper body is mostly sandy brown, with broad dark brown axial stripes running through each feather; the dark brown vertical stripes on the upper back and upper tail coverts are thinner, making the brown color more conspicuous. The feathers on the back of the head are slightly extended and become slightly crested. The two wing coverts are dark brown with brown edges and tips; the primary and secondary flight feathers are also dark brown, with some feather tips decorated with brown and white, and the edges of the outer feathers are decorated with brown. This brown feather edge is also broad and wide on the inner flight feathers. If it is thicker, the inner and outer feather edges of its third-level flight feathers will be wider. The central pair of tail feathers are dark brown, and the broad edges are light brown. The outermost pair is almost pure white, with a dark brown wedge-shaped spot at the base of the inner feathers. The outer feathers of

Resident birds: Algeria, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, India, Iran, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Lebanon, Libya, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Moldova, Morocco, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Tajikistan, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine and the United Kingdom.
Breeding grounds: Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Belarus, China, Faroe Islands, Georgia, Hungary, Kazakhstan, North Korea, South Korea, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Mongolia, Montenegro, Norway, Poland, Russia, Serbia, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan
Non-breeding grounds: Afghanistan, Bahrain, Cyprus, Gibraltar, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Malta, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Western Sahara.
Breeding in China: Xinjiang, Qinghai, Tibet, Hebei, Shandong in the north and northwest of China, as well as H

Skylark is a small songbird with 11 subspecies.

Skylarks often migrate in groups, usually no more than 10 individuals, and are generally divided into smaller groups. Large groups of skylarks can be found in bad weather. It runs on the ground in groups, foraging for food and playfully chasing, occasionally standing upright with its crest erected, especially when startled. It is never seen perched on branches.  

The skylark has a soft and loud singing voice. It often suddenly rises vertically from the ground to the sky. When it rises to a certain height, it floats in the air for a while, and then flies straight up again, singing and singing, singing high into the clouds, so it is called the bird that announces the sky. When flying high, you can often only hear its singing, but it is difficult to see the bird. The landing is also like the rising flight state. The two wings are often spread upwards, and then suddenly folded together, and then fall straight to the ground, which is very interesting.

Starting from dawn, male skylarks sing all day long. It is mainly heard from February to July, but weaker songs can be heard during the rest of the year. They usually start singing after flying 10-20 meters in the air. It then continues to fly for 50-100 meters before slowly descending in a circle, hovering in the air for a while. The song can last 10-15 minutes. It includes a variety of trills and cadenzas as well as babbling and mimicry. The songs are also used as displays to attract female birds.

Skylarks are omnivores that eat seeds and insects. They eat weed seeds and spent grains, and also eat invertebrates such as beetles, caterpillars, spiders, millipedes, earthworms and slugs. They forage on the ground, using vision to find food.

Skylarks usually breed between April and July. Courtship behavior includes high-speed pursuits in the air and the famous chirping singing behavior. These birds are monogamous, but only about half of the mating pairs remain with the original mate after a year. Skylarks nest in open areas, such as barren slopes, graveyards, wasteland in fields, roadsides and beaches. Females nest almost alone. The nest is usually located near low vegetation and consists of a shallow depression in the ground. The depression is lined with stems, leaves and finer materials such as hair. Each nest contains 3-4 eggs, sometimes 5. The incubation period is 11-14 days. Both male and female birds protect the nest.

Once the chicks hatch, both parents take care of them. The way adults collect food for the chicks is to pile up a pile of insects on the ground. When enough insects are collected, they are brought to the chicks and the soft parts are fed to them. The chicks leave the nest 8-10 days after hatching. When the chicks grow to the 4th day, the feather areas can be seen, and they open their eyes on the 5th day. On the 8th-9th day, when the chicks can stand, they leave the nest, but they have no ability to find food and need to be fed by their parents. They can live independently about 10 days after leaving the nest.

"To a Skylark" is one of the representative lyric poems of the British poet Shelley. The poem uses romanticism to enthusiastically praise the skylark. In the poet's pen, the skylark is a symbol of joy, light and beauty. This poem inspired many artists and fascinated by its wonderful changes.

Caesar created a legion "Legio Quinta Alaudae", which means "Fifth Legion of Skylarks", which may be composed of Gauls, whose helmets are decorated with skylark wings as a unique symbol.

In 2015, the breeding population in Europe was estimated at 44,300,000-78,800,000 pairs, equivalent to 88,700,000-158,000,000 mature individuals. Europe accounts for about 30% of the global range, so a preliminary estimate of the global population size is 295,600,000-526,600,00 mature individuals, but further verification of this estimate is needed. Global population estimates include: about 10,000-100,000 breeding pairs and about 1,000-10,000 migrants in China; <50 migrants on average, <50 wintering in Taiwan on average; 10,000-100,000 breeding pairs and about 1,000-10,000 wintering individuals in Korea on average; about 10,000-100,000 breeding pairs and about 1,000-10,000 wintering individuals in Japan, and about 10,000-100,000 breeding pairs and about 1,000-10,000 migrants in Russia (2009).

Listed in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species in 2018 ver3.1-Least Concern (LC).  

Listed in China's National List of Key Protected Wildlife (February 5, 2021) Level 2.

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