ri6 THE BIRDS OF THE BRITISH ISLES. 



A favourite winter haunt is the rushy margin of a large 

 sheet of water, where the birds, if disturbed, rise one after 

 the other with the characteristic peep. Severe weather drives 

 them to the stack-yards, for at this season the bird is nomadic. 

 Though said to perch but Uttle, feeding birds will take to the 

 trees if alarmed, but often the whole flock flies to and fro 

 aimlessly, each bird apparently striving to jerk itself higher, 

 though the elevation of the party does not alter ; after un- 

 decided sallies right and left the flock returns whence it rose. 

 In autumn the Titlark often feeds in the root-fields, and many 

 a sportsman has instinctively raised his gun when tlie little 

 bird rose suddenly. On the ground it runs or walks, but the 

 actions, both of head and tail, are more jerky and less grace- 

 ful than those of a wagtail. 



The nest is built on the ground, well concealed in the roots 

 of heather, a bunch of rushes, beneath an arch of rough grass, 

 or in marram on the sand-hills. It is built of the nearest 

 grasses to be found, and Hned with finer bents and hair, the 

 cup being small and neat. The first eggs are laid in April, but 

 second or late clutches may be found in August. The eggs are 

 five or six in number, and a common type is dark reddish 

 brown, closely speckled and with one or two hair-lines 

 (Plate 58). No bird more frequently tends the young Cuckoo ; 

 indeed the Welsh name "Gwas-y-Gog" means Cuckoo's 

 servant. On the moors and sand dunes the Cuckoo is usually 

 mobbed by a pair of Titlarks, which follow it with constant 

 cries, and alight near it when it settles. Rooks are often 

 followed in winter in the same way. 



After the spring moult the plumage is olive-brown above and 

 almost white below, streaked as in the Tree- Pipit, but the 

 outer tail feathers are a purer white. The bill is dark brown, 

 as are the irides, and the legs are pale brown. The sexes are 

 alike. After the autumn moult the bird is said to be yellowish 

 olive-brown above, and chestnut-buff beneath, but the spring 



