The skylark population in Scotland shrank by 25% between 2010 and 2011 | Bird decline, insect decline and neonicotinoids

The skylark Alauda arvensis has suffered from a "surprising and worrying decline" in numbers in Scotland, ornithologists have warned. The population shrank by 25% between 2010 and 2011. The fall in numbers has been recorded in the British Trust for Ornithology's latest breeding bird survey (BBS). Scotland had previously been regarded as a stronghold for skylarks.