184 ANTHUS PRATENSIS. 



Female. — The female is scarcely distinguishable from the 

 male, being merely a little smaller, with the colours of the plu- 

 mage slightly duller. 



Length to end of tail 5y§ ; extent of wings 9i ; bill along 

 the ridge/l, along the edge of lower mandible y"^ '■> tarsus j% ; 

 middle toe and claw { ^ ; hind toe and claw | ^ ? the claw being 

 if I ; wing from flexure 8 ; tail 2^. 



Male in Summer. — The difference of colour and texture pro- 

 duced in the plumage by exposure to the weather is consi- 

 derable, birds shot in summer having a very faded appearance, 

 owing to the abrasion of the greenish margins of the feathers. 

 The general colour of the upper parts is light greyish-brown, 

 the central part of each feather dark-brown, excepting on the 

 rump, where the markings are very obscure. The wings are 

 greyish-brown ; the secondary coverts, and first row of small 

 coverts, have their margins greyish-w^hite. The middle tail- 

 feathers are greyish-brown, the rest dark-brown, edged with 

 lighter ; the outer with an oblique white band, including the 

 terminal part of the inner web, and the whole of the outer, ex- 

 cepting the basal part. There is a light coloured line over the 

 eye. The lower parts are of a dull whitish-grey, slightly tinged 

 with brown ; the sides of the neck, its fore-part below, the fore- 

 part of the breast, and the sides, spotted with blackish brown. 



Female in Summer. — The female undergoes the same changes. 



Variations. — I have not met with any remarkable variations 

 in colour, excepting those produced by the gradual decay of the 

 plumage. Individuals vary in length from 6^% to 5j% inches, 

 and in extent of wing from lOf to 9 J. The claw of the hind 

 toe is sometimes j\ long, and scarcely ever less than f | in 

 adult birds. 



Habits. — The Meadow Pipit is a very common bird in most 

 parts of Scotland and England, being met with on moors, in pas- 

 tures, meadow land, and cultivated fields, from one extremity 

 of the island to the other. In the haunts of the Grey Ptarmi- 



