Skylark named Swiss Bird of the Year

(MENAFN- Swissinfo) The skylark is one of the best singers in the bird world Vincent Legrand

The skylark has lived with humans in open agricultural landscapes for centuries. However, the industrialisation of agriculture has been threatening the skylark's existence for decades, says BirdLife Switzerland, which has named it Swiss Bird of the Year for 2022.

This content was published on November 25, 2021 - 16:45 November 25, 2021 - 16:45 Keystone-SDA/ts

As Bird of the Year, the skylark should also stand for other threatened species in cultivated land and point to a necessary reorientation of agricultural policy, the organisation saidExternal link on Thursday.

“Although small and inconspicuous, the skylark is one of the best and most persistent singers in the bird world,” it said.“In spring, it flutters for minutes over fields and meadows, warbling almost non-stop. The male uses his singing skills to win a female.”

The skylark is a ground-breeder. In April the female lays four to six eggs which hatch in 12 days on average. The young birds leave the nest after seven to 12 days – one of the shortest breeding and nesting periods among birds.

But this is no longer enough for safe broods, BirdLife Switzerland said. Skylarks now struggle to find safe breeding places and enough insects and spiders for their young. This is down to heavily fertilised meadows, frequent mowing and thus fewer flowering plants and insects.

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