1 64 OUR FAVOURITE SONG BIRDS 



the same habit of flying up into the air to warble 

 his short rambling song ; and up and down he goes 

 at intervals all the livelong day. The song is 

 delivered in much the same way as that of the 

 Meadow Pipit, the bird starting upwards rapidly 

 repeating its call-note until the zenith of the flight 

 is reached, when its music commences and is con- 

 tinued until the ground is reached again. The song 

 is sweet and musical, but far too short ; still it does 

 not compare unfavourably with that of the preceding 

 species ; indeed of the two birds its music may be 

 the best ; but in these cases associations go a long 

 way in our determination. 



The nesting season of the Rock Pipit begins in 

 April, and as the bird appears to be double-brooded, 

 it is continued to July. The nest of this species 

 is so very carefully hidden that its discovery is 

 seldom an easy task, and more often than not the 

 result of accident rather than careful search. It is 

 generally placed in some sheltered nook, as for 

 instance under a flat stone, or a mass of loose rock, 

 or in a chink far up the cliffs in spots absolutely 

 inaccessible. We have found the nest in a great 

 variety of situations — amongst beds of campion and 

 sea-pink, in a deserted Puffln-burrow, in a hole in 

 a ruined wall, and within a few inches of a Herring 

 Gull's nest! The materials vary a good deal in 

 certain districts, and appear to depend upon what- 

 ever is most readily obtainable. In some places 



