but others, especially in the east, may have crossed the sea from Scandinavia or northern Europe. Flocks of skylarks usually gather in stubble fields in the winter, searching for spilt grain and weed seed, alongside finches and buntings, but they can also be found in coastal dunes and marshes, as well as in rough pasture.
Though the birds are much quieter than in the summer, a few will give a quick, musical trill when disturbed. Otherwise, they are best identified by their distinctive, bouncing flight — hovering a little with fast-beating wings. The autumn sowing of cereal crops appears to have had a serious effect on numbers of skylarks, which had their best days during the mid-20th-century agricultural boom. There are a lot of skylarks on the move in October,…
