The Lark's Thirteen Calls is a traditional standard for the calls of domesticated songbirds

The Lark's Thirteen Calls is a call standard long circulated among bird keepers, referring to a properly trained lark's ability to sing thirteen different sounds in succession. The lark is native to the northern grassland regions, has a loud, ringing song and is skilled at imitation, and based on this natural trait, people have compiled the common bird calls, insect songs, animal sounds and street vendor cries into a set repertoire, serving as the traditional basis for judging the level of a lark's singing.

As for the specific content of the thirteen calls, accounts vary somewhat from place to place; common ones include the flock calls of sparrows, the cackle of a hen announcing her egg, cat meows, dog barks, cricket chirps, swallow calls, magpie calls and cuckoo calls. These sounds are sung in a certain order, which is called a set of calls. A lark that can sing all thirteen calls completely, clearly and without error is often regarded as top grade and is also more likely to win the favor of bird keepers.

Training a lark to learn calls should start from a young age; during the nestling stage it must repeatedly learn from a teacher bird with pure calls or from recordings. During training, the environment should be kept quiet and uniform to prevent it from learning extraneous sounds such as duck calls or goose calls; bird fanciers call this dirty calls, and once acquired they are very hard to correct. In daily care, one must also keep taking the bird out, so that it maintains its condition and performs steadily in an outdoor environment.

The Lark's Thirteen Calls is not only an appreciation standard but also carries the memory of traditional bird-keeping culture. Today many people still select, keep and compete birds according to this repertoire, using systematic training to make the lark's song richer and more pleasant, adding a touch of refined pleasure to daily life.