266 EGGS OF BRITISH BIRDS. 



partake frequently of the streaky character of a Bunting's egg, 

 resembles more the eggs of the Lapland Bunting than the other 

 type of the eggs of the Tree Pipit. The ground-colour in both 

 types varies from huffish or pinkish-white to very pale greenish- 

 blue, and the surface-markings vary from neutral-brown to 

 reddish-brown ; the underlying markings vary from pale brown 

 to pale grey. On one type the spots are large and confluent, but 

 sufficiently wide apart to show a considerable amount of the 

 ground-colour between them ; but on the other the spots are 

 small, and so thickly dispersed over the entire surface as almost 

 to conceal the ground-colour. On some eggs the surface-colour 

 is evenly clouded over the entire surface, with here and there a 

 few spots of darker colour. Sometimes the markings take the 

 form of streaky lines and spots. Occasionally one egg in a clutch 

 is much paler than the rest. The eggs vary from 0*82 to 0'68 

 inch in length, and from 0'62 to 0'55 inch in breadth. 



RICHARD'S PIPIT. 

 (Anthus richardi.) 



Plate 58a, Fig. 4. 



So many examples of this bird have been obtained, that we 

 may now regard it almost as a regular straggler on autumn 

 migration to our islands. So far as is known, Richard's Pipit is 

 confined during the breeding-season to the central portions of 

 Asia. The northern limit of its range appears to be lat. 58° in 

 the valley of the Yenisei, whence it extends south-east through 

 Dauria as far as the mountains of Eastern Thibet on the con- 

 fines of China, and south-west as far as Eastern Turkestan on 

 the confines of Cashmere. 



The nest of Richard's Pipit has never been described, but 

 probably differs very little from that of other Pipits. 



The eggs vary in number from four to six. Some are profusely 

 spotted all over with minute specks and blotches of greenish- 

 brown upon a pale greenish-white ground-colour, whilst in others 

 the spots are reddish-brown upon a pinkish-white ground-colour. 

 They vary in length from 0'9 to 0'82 inch, and in breadth from 

 0'7 to 065 inch. Except in size, the eggs of the present species 

 scarcely differ from those of the Rock Pipit and the Alpine Pipit. 



