| Alauda | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Eurasian Skylark (Alauda arvensis) | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Alaudidae |
| Genus: | Alauda Linnaeus, 1758 |
| Species | |
|
A. arvensis |
|
Alauda is a genus of larks with four species found across much of Europe, Asia and in the mountains of north Africa, and one species (the Raso Lark) endemic to the islet of Raso in the Cape Verde Islands.
These birds are 14–18 cm long and live in cultivation, heath, natural steppe and other open habitats. Their characteristic songs are delivered in flight. They are fairly undistinguished: streaked brown above and pale below, with a short, blunt, erectile crest. In flight, they display a short tail and short broad wings. The tail and the rear edge of the wings are edged with white.
Their diet consists of seeds, supplemented with insects in the breeding season. They nest on the ground in tufts of grass, with 3-6 eggs per clutch. They form flocks when not breeding.
Species in taxonomic order [link]
- Eurasian Skylark, Alauda arvensis
- Japanese Skylark, Alauda japonica
- Oriental Skylark, Alauda gulgula
- Raso Lark, Alauda razae
References [link]
- Mullarney, Svensson, Zetterstrom and Grant, Collins Bird Guide ISBN 0-00-219728-6
https://wn.com/Alauda
Skylark (song)
"Skylark" is an American popular song with lyrics by Johnny Mercer and music by Hoagy Carmichael, published in 1941. Mercer said that he struggled for a year after he got the music from Carmichael before he could get the lyrics right. Mercer recalled Carmichael initially called him several times about the lyric, but had forgotten about it by the time Mercer finally wrote the lyrics. The yearning expressed in the lyrics is Mercer's longing for Judy Garland, with whom Mercer had an affair. This song is considered a jazz standard. Additionally, the song is believed to have inspired a long-running Buick car of the same name that was produced from 1953 to 1998.
Selective list of recorded versions
Skylark (1941 film)
Skylark is a 1941 film directed by Mark Sandrich, and starring Claudette Colbert, Ray Milland and Brian Aherne. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Sound Recording (Loren L. Ryder, Paramount SSD).
Plot
Lydia Kenyon (Claudette Colbert) feels she is neglected and treated insensitively by her husband, Tony (Ray Milland), on their fifth wedding anniversary. She meets a lawyer, Jim Blake (Brian Aherne), and though she eventually divorces her husband, and nearly marries the young lawyer instead, in a moment of crisis she realises she loves her husband, and returns to him.
