Skylark (encounters in the wild) is a book by Scotland’s renowned nature writer, who with passion and vision, relives memorable encounters with one of our best-loved creatures, offering intimate insights into their extraordinary lives. Skylarks are small brown birds (larger than sparrows but smaller than starlings) with streaky brown feathers and a white-sided tail. It’s a close contender with nightingales for the bird world’s most beautiful song!
Don’t encourage birds to gardens if you live with cats (keep feline friends inside at dawn and dusk, when birds are likely feeding). Don’t play birdsong near birds, it can make them vulnerable to predators. Learn how to create safe havens for garden birds and how to stop birds flying into windows.
Watch this bird poisoned on a tussock, awaiting a signal from the wind: a thumbs up, an urging gust. Lift-off is gently inclined and silent. The transformations from gentle incline to vertical flight (and from silence to song) coincide within a few airborne seconds, a few feet of ascent. The song is full-throated from the first note, as self-confident as the opening bars of Beethoven’s Fifth or Armstrong’s West End Blues. There is no preamble, no subtle dropped hint of the glories to come.
Jim Crumley is an ardent advocate for our landscapes and animals. A nature writer, journalist and poet with decades of field observation and 30 books to his name, he has won and been shortlisted for a number of prestigious awards.
