Eurasian Skylark/Fuiseog (Alauda a. arvensis)
Shorebirds of Ireland, Freshwater Birds of Ireland and The Birds of Ireland: A Field Guide with Jim Wilson.
www.markcarmodyphotography.com
The Skylark is a common resident throughout Ireland in uplands and areas of farmland, especially cereal. It is a rather nondescript species, with much brown and black streaking. Adult Skylarks have a prominent white supercilium and frequently raise their crown feathers to form a little crest. Juveniles have much of the black streaking replaced by spotting and lack the crest. When flushed from the ground, keeps close to the ground unlike the similar Meadow Pipit which typically rises straight up.
The song, which can be heard from February/March to June, is a distinctive continuous stream of warbling notes. It can last up to half an hour and is usually given while the bird is flying 50 to 100 metres overhead.
Skylarks usually moves out of breeding areas to winter in flocks on stubble fields, grasslands and coastal areas. Birds from continental Europe arrive in variable numbers in Ireland from September and depart March/April. (BirdWatch Ireland)
A collective noun for Eurasian skylarks is an "exaltation". Although the Oxford English Dictionary describes this usage as "fanciful", it traces it back to a quotation from John Lydgate dating from about 1430. (wikipedia)
The Skylark has been a bogey species for me to photograph well on the ground. I was lucky to stumble upon this semi-confiding individual recently on the North Bull Island, Dublin Bay, Ireland. Still a way to go to get a decent, clean shot on the ground but I'll take this one for now.
Eurasian Skylark/Fuiseog (Alauda a. arvensis)
Shorebirds of Ireland, Freshwater Birds of Ireland and The Birds of Ireland: A Field Guide with Jim Wilson.
www.markcarmodyphotography.com
The Skylark is a common resident throughout Ireland in uplands and areas of farmland, especially cereal. It is a rather nondescript species, with much brown and black streaking. Adult Skylarks have a prominent white supercilium and frequently raise their crown feathers to form a little crest. Juveniles have much of the black streaking replaced by spotting and lack the crest. When flushed from the ground, keeps close to the ground unlike the similar Meadow Pipit which typically rises straight up.
The song, which can be heard from February/March to June, is a distinctive continuous stream of warbling notes. It can last up to half an hour and is usually given while the bird is flying 50 to 100 metres overhead.
Skylarks usually moves out of breeding areas to winter in flocks on stubble fields, grasslands and coastal areas. Birds from continental Europe arrive in variable numbers in Ireland from September and depart March/April. (BirdWatch Ireland)
A collective noun for Eurasian skylarks is an "exaltation". Although the Oxford English Dictionary describes this usage as "fanciful", it traces it back to a quotation from John Lydgate dating from about 1430. (wikipedia)
The Skylark has been a bogey species for me to photograph well on the ground. I was lucky to stumble upon this semi-confiding individual recently on the North Bull Island, Dublin Bay, Ireland. Still a way to go to get a decent, clean shot on the ground but I'll take this one for now.