Listen for the enduring songs of skylarks and see their spiralling flight
John Aitchison presents the skylark on Tweet of the Day
No bird has inspired more English poetry and music than the skylark – well, apart perhaps from the nightingale. This nondescript, streaky brown bird of rough grassy places is often in full voice by March and may sing right through the spring and summer months. It frequently begins before first light, pouring out its melody from the pitch-black sky while spiralling higher and higher. Eventually, the bird hangs in midair 50m or so above the ground, still singing, before it plummets to earth.
Most skylark songs last around three or four minutes, but performances of as long as a quarter of an hour are not uncommon. The birds are able to sing non-stop for so long thanks to the unique structure of the avian voicebox, or syrinx, which enables them to produce sound even while inhaling fresh air. It is the male skylark that sings – a sign that he is defending territory and hoping to attract a mate.