205 



and is a sight that never loses its charm. Its sprightly movements, constant 

 fluttering, and spreading of wings and tail give it a vivacity that few other 

 species exhibit. Like many other American birds the term Redstart was 

 given it by early settlers who bestowed upon it the name of a familiar 

 Old World form though the resemblance is far from close. 



FAMILY — MOTACILLID^. WAGTAILS OR PIPITS. 



There is only one species of this family in eastern Canada and for the 

 family characters the reader is referred to the specific description following, 



697. American Pipit, titlark, fr. — lafarlouse d'amerique. Anthus ruhescens. 

 L, 6-38. A ground-coloured and ground-haunting bird; bill very warbler-like; hind claw 

 elongated like that of the Longspur and the Homed Lark (Figure 60, p. 27, compare with 

 Figure 44, p. 25). Adult spring male: greyish above, purest on head and growing sUghtly 

 ohve on rump; back faintly mottled with dark feather centres; pinkish buff below, with 

 sparse fine breast stripes of brownish grey, tending to form a necklace across breast and 

 extending along sides; wings brown with faded feather edges. Autumn birds and females 

 in spring: even dull oUve slightly mottled above; buffy white below with diffuse and 

 more or less aggregated spots descending sides of throat and extending across breast and 

 along flanks. 



Distinctions. The fine warbler-Uke bill together with the long hind claw are dis- 

 tinctive. The only other birds with such a claw are the Homed Larks and the Lapland 

 Longspur, but the horns of the one and the sparrow-hke bill (Figure 51, p. 26) of the 

 other make differentiation simple. 



Field Marks. A ground-coloured bird seen in the open in settled parts of Canada 

 in the spring and autumn, often in large scattered flocks like the Snow Bunting and Horned 

 Lark. Its even coloration, constant habit of tail dipping, and the conspicuous white 

 outer tail feathers are good field marks. 



Nesting. On ground in nest of grasses. 



Distribution. North America; breeding in high latitudes beyond the tree Umits. 



A spring and late autumn migrant, occurring sometimes in large 

 flocks and feeding in open meadows, ploughed fields, or on dry sandy 

 uplands and shores. On its breeding grounds it has the Skylark-like habit 

 of mounting and singing high in the air and descending in a perpendicular 

 dive like a falling stone. 



Economic Status. Coming as it does while the fields are bare and 

 returning after the harvest, its food is necessarily confined to weed seeds 

 and early or belated insects. Its effect must be beneficial. 



FAMILY — MIMID^. MOCKERS AND THRASHERS. 



L. 8-94— 11-42. 



The imitative faculty of the Mockingbird that has given the family 

 its name is well developed in Canadian representatives. The family is 

 peculiarly American and like many of the subdivisions of the order Passeres 

 is difficult to diagnose in non-technical language. The birds are rather 

 large, as shown by the above measurements. The Catbird and Mocking- 

 bird are of even shades of stone-grey and the Thrasher bright rufous 

 brown above with heavily spotted whitish or creamy underparts and an 

 unusually long full tail. They are all good mockers and diversify their 

 song with imitations of all the common sounds around them, including the 

 songs of other birds, and are capable of effects that are rarely equalled by 

 the most famous songsters of either the New or Old World. Any one of 

 57172—141 



