342 THE BIRDS OF HELIGOLAND 



occurred twice. On one of these occasions it was obtained by 

 Reymers : on the other it came within the sphere of my own 

 observation. In England it has been killed three or four times, 

 and is said also to occur pretty frequently in Denmark. 



The breeding range of this species extends through all the 

 mountainous districts of Europe and Asia, where the bird is found 

 to nest at heights of from eight to ten thousand feet, though 

 occasionally also in less elevated situations, as for instance at the 

 foot of the Riesengebirge in Silesia. 



153. — Rock Pipit [FELSENPiErEit]. 

 ANTHUS RUPESTRIS, Nilsson.i 



Heligolandish : Tung-Harrofs. Harrofs being the name for Pipit, 

 and therefore =rftH!7 Piint. 



Anthus rupestris. Naumann, xiii. ; Blasius, Nachtrdge, io8. 



Rock Pijdf. Dresser, iii. 343. 



Pi2]it obscur. Temminck, Manncl, iv. 62S. 



We may describe the Rock Pipit as the best-kno\\Ti bnd in 

 Heligoland, partly because it is one of the few birds which, with 

 the exception of the summer months, remain the whole year ; 

 partly because it chiefly, or almost exclusively, frequents that part 

 of the island where the population is prmcipally occupied, — to wit, 

 the shore. 



It is surprising that this bird has never yet made an attempt to 

 breed on the island, seeing that the grass-grown prominences of 

 the east side of the rock are apparently as well adapted for this 

 object as those which it frequents by preference in other places ; 

 and further, since it is a fairly common breeding bird on the 

 opposite coast of England. The cause may possibly be traceable 

 to the lack of fresh water here, which is especially felt during the 

 nesting season. 



The bird is a solitary, serious creature, little caring for the 

 society either of members of its own or of other species. Wliile 

 searching for food, it walks step by step, only rarely at an accele- 

 rated pace, over the sea-tang on the shore, or on the rocks and 

 iUhris exposed at low tide at the base of the cliff. It utters its 

 call-note only when taldng to flight, a single call repeated after 

 rather long pauses. The note is deeper and longer drawn than 

 that of the Meadow Pipit, and has an agreeable sound, by no means 



' Anthus ohscurus (Latham). 



