Eurasian skylark

The Eurasian skylark is a passerine in the lark family Alaudidae, widespread across farmland and heath in Europe and the Palearctic, with introduced populations in Australia, New Zealand, Canada and Hawaii. Males and females look alike, streaked greyish brown above and on the breast with a buff white belly, but males are best known for singing in prolonged hovering flight 50 to 100 metres above the ground. Females build open nests in shallow scrapes on open ground, away from trees and hedges, laying three to five eggs that hatch after about 11 days; chicks leave the nest after eight to ten days, before they can fly, and are fed by both parents until they fledge at 18 to 20 days. Pairs can raise multiple broods in a season, though nests suffer heavy predation from larger birds and small mammals, and the species is classified as Least Concern.