Practical tricks for sexing old wild larks
The lark is a representative bird of the grassland, with a crisp call and rich, varied colors, and it is a valuable bird kept in cages by humans. So what kinds of larks are there generally, and how are males and females distinguished?
How to tell male and female larks apart?
1. Tricks for sexing old wild larks
The male old wild lark has a thick, prominent black breast band, black and white (or yellow) markings on the face, and black streaks at the front of the crown that extend backward into characteristic small “horns”. Its upperparts are almost pure dark brown; the rest of the underparts are white, with some brown lark streaks on the flanks. The female is duller in color (and has no “horns”). Generally, based on this, the male and female lark can be distinguished.
2. Sexing young larks
When selecting young birds, the reference indicator is the tongue spots. In the early stage, the young bird has three black dots on the tongue, one in front and two behind, arranged in a triangle. Young birds need to be hand-fed; when you tease them with your hand, they stretch their necks and open their mouths. At this time you will see that some have tongue spots on the tip of the tongue while others do not, or some have them but the two black dots at the back are not clear. At this point, choose the ones with obvious tongue spots and put them in one cage, then also refer to the other indicators you usually know: beautiful body shape, clear brows and eyes, clean belly feathers, steady temperament, appropriate leg height (do not take high-legged ones), flat wings and flat tail (do not take scissor wings - crossed wings or tightly held wings), slightly curved beak shape (do not take straight, awl-like beaks; of course, some birds with short beak shapes are exceptions), among otherwise similar birds choose white beaks rather than black beaks, do not take those with obviously protruding eyes and a dull, muddled look, and the wing and tail feathers should be well protected with no stains - the ones that stand out clearly in a group. It should be noted that tongue spots gradually disappear as the bird ages, so looking at tongue spots is suitable for young birds; after more than 40 days (roughly) it is no longer accurate.
At present, the lark has been listed as a national second-class protected animal, so everyone must absolutely not hunt wild larks without authorization, lest you be subject to administrative penalties.