The effect of reed burning on Skylark Alauda arvensis density was examined during the breeding seasons of 2004, 2005 and 2011 in Watarase Marsh, an area of tall, dense reed bed associated with a large inland water impoundment (about 3300 ha) located in Tochigi Prefecture, central Japan. In this marsh, most of the reed bed is managed by annual prescribed burning conducted in mid-March. This study examined the response of Skylarks to the burning at two temporal scales (intra-annual and inter-annual), to assess the impact of prescribed burning on the breeding habitat of the lark. From mid-April to late July of 2004, the seasonal change in skylark densities along a census course were recorded during the regrowth period following a prescribed burn, and densities were compared to plant heights. Tall plants such as reed Phragmites australisand Japanese silver reed Miscanthus sacchariflorus grew gradually after burning, and these plants reached about 2.1 m in height at 100 days after burning. Skylark density showed a highly negative correlation with days after burning, i.e. the lark density peaked at about 40 days after the burning, when vegetation cover reached 0.6 m in height, and the lark density decreased immediately thereafter. There was, therefore, a significant negative relationship between Skylark density and the plant height. To assess the impact of prescribed burning on Skylark at an annual scale, this study recorded Skylark densities during an unexpected cancellation of the prescribed burning in 2011 due to a strong earthquake that occurred on 11 March. Data were compared to comparable results from 2004 and 2005. The density of Skylarks observed from mid-April to early May during the years with prescribed burning (2004, 2005) were significantly larger than that of the year when burning did not occur (2011). On the other hand, there were no significant changes in the lark density recorded along a bank with short vegetation cover (control site). In general, these results suggest that the prescribed burning of reeds in Watarase Marsh enhances breeding habitat for Skylarks. Repeated cancellation of burning, such as occurred in 2011, would restrict their habitat to such sites as road sides, banks and reed-harvest areas.