What do Skylarks eat?
Well the simple answer is they feed on all manner of invertebrates and plant material, particularly seeds. But when they are feeding young they prefer high-protein insects to seeds. I photographed this one high on the Peak District Moors and in its beak it has the caterpillar of an Antler Moth (Cerapteryx graminis) which is common on these moors, flying in July and August. I walked down a moorland track (which incidentally was flanked with non-moorland vegetation like this Yorkshire Fog grass) and a Skylark rose up singing not far away. When I reached the same spot on the way back I saw him on the track but he then flew, disappearing into the trackside grass. It was raining at this point but I approached slowly and spotted him sitting on a stone in the grass just a few metres away, tenaciously holding a caterpillar. He just sat quietly as we walked past, even when I paused to take his photograph. I assume he had a nest with hungry youngsters somewhere nearby and it did not want to disclose its location while humans were nearby.
Incidentally the name Skylark sounds quintessentially English, inspiring poets and composers. Yet the name is a translation of Gesner's 1555 Swiss-German name Himmellerch. Although John Ray did call it "The common or Skie-Lark" in 1678, it was a century later when Thomas Pennant used it to differentiate from the rarer Woodlark, and the name caught on.
What do Skylarks eat?
Well the simple answer is they feed on all manner of invertebrates and plant material, particularly seeds. But when they are feeding young they prefer high-protein insects to seeds. I photographed this one high on the Peak District Moors and in its beak it has the caterpillar of an Antler Moth (Cerapteryx graminis) which is common on these moors, flying in July and August. I walked down a moorland track (which incidentally was flanked with non-moorland vegetation like this Yorkshire Fog grass) and a Skylark rose up singing not far away. When I reached the same spot on the way back I saw him on the track but he then flew, disappearing into the trackside grass. It was raining at this point but I approached slowly and spotted him sitting on a stone in the grass just a few metres away, tenaciously holding a caterpillar. He just sat quietly as we walked past, even when I paused to take his photograph. I assume he had a nest with hungry youngsters somewhere nearby and it did not want to disclose its location while humans were nearby.
Incidentally the name Skylark sounds quintessentially English, inspiring poets and composers. Yet the name is a translation of Gesner's 1555 Swiss-German name Himmellerch. Although John Ray did call it "The common or Skie-Lark" in 1678, it was a century later when Thomas Pennant used it to differentiate from the rarer Woodlark, and the name caught on.