Lark Mirrors: From Tools to Folk Art

Abstract

Skylarks have been a feature in British skies for longer then man can remember, and while their flight and song has inspired poets and artists, their flesh, grilled or in pies, whetted many an appetite. As they were sought for food, ways of catching them were devised and improved over time, until, approximately seventy years ago, they were finally afforded total protection. Before the advent of guns, nets were dragged and drawn over the fields at night so that roosting larks flew up and became entangled in them. In some places, larks were flushed towards vertical nets just before darkness fell. During the day, they were snared in horsehair nooses or they were lured to nets. When guns were devised, larks were shot, mostly as they were feeding in flocks. Shooting ‘into the brown’ was a common expression in circles. But sport shooting (shooting at individual larks) was also a popular pastime.