THE TREE PIPIT 153 



finer grass and roots, and horse-hair. It is rather 

 loosely put together, not very large, but neatly 

 finished inside. The eggs are from four to six in 

 number and vary considerably in colour. They 

 vary from greyish-white or bluish-white, to pinkish- 

 white and pale olive in ground-colour, mottled, 

 spotted and blotched with various shades of reddish- 

 brown, purplish-brown, and olive-brown, and occa- 

 sionally streaked with irregular blackish lines. 

 On some eggs the markings are very minute and 

 cover the whole surface ; on others they form a zone 

 or cap ; on others, yet again, they assume the 

 character of irregular and large blotches and round 

 spots. This Pipit is a close sitter, and is very care- 

 ful in approaching the nest not to betray its where- 

 abouts. As soon as the song of the male ceases for 

 the season this Pipit spends most of its time upon 

 the ground ; the trees are seldom visited and the 

 birds live almost exclusively amongst the herbage. 

 It is said that this species rears more than one brood 

 in the season, but this must be extremely exceptional. 

 The food of the Tree Pipit is principally composed 

 of small worms, insects and their larvae ; but in 

 August the bird may frequently be flushed from the 

 wheat-fields, whither it repairs to feed upon the soft 

 grain. The ordinary call-note of this Pipit is a low 

 and oft-repeated tick. The southward migration of 

 the Tree Pipit begins in September and lasts 

 nornvilly through October. 



