the woodlark is a part-pickpocket. it spends the winter in the Mediterranean-countries and North-Africa, rarely however not also in west and Central Europe. At the train and in the hibernation-area, it lives alone or in small groups (families) of five to ten birds.
Shape Males and females of the woodlark are similarly colored. The brownish birds are smaller than the skylark with 15 cm of length, also the much shorter tail is particularly in the flight to be recognized. The easy feather-bonnet is to be seen only heavily in the field. The light Ãberaugenstreifen, that meet in the neck, characteristically are the black-and-white drawing at the wing-edge and the short tail with its white feather-tops, while the outside-crusts are without white.
Habitat The brood-areas are open landscapes, uncultivated country, forest-edges, heaths and treeless mountainsides in almost whole Europe, northwards until South-Scandinavia. In the whole brood-area, however, the woodlark is widespread only sporadically. The food consists of insects and Sämereien.
Chant End of February, the male occupies its precinct. The Singflug is not so particularly developed or long-continuously like with the skylark. The melodic chant also becomes usually recited on the ground or from the top of a tree or bush, rarely incidentally not in the night. These "Singwarten" enclose the precinct.
Reproduction The brood-period begins end of March and continues until August. The nest is put together from grass-stalks and moss firmly by both sexes - usually under high, dry grass or heather - on the ground and is padded with soft grass and hair. The female incubates the 3-4 eggs for 2 weeks approximately. The male often sits on that occasion in nest-proximity and accompanies the female, if it goes on food-search. The squabs are still looked after by both parents approximately as nestlings for 2 weeks. Usually, second brood joins itself another.
Endangering The woodlark is on the red list of the strongly endangered types of animal with us.
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