540 



PERCHING BIRDS 



quills have huffish margins ; the outer pair of tail-feathers is 

 mostly white, and the throat and abdomen are wholly so, although 

 the rest of the under- parts has a buff tinge and is marked with 

 elongated dark brown spots, most pronounced on the fore part of the 

 breast. The hen is slightly smaller and somewhat less spotted. After 

 the autumn-moult the plum^e becomes brighter coloured than in the 

 breeding-season, the undcr-parts especially assuming a rich buff tint. 

 Young birds are more heavily spotted on the breast than their parents. 

 The tree-pipit breeds throughout the whole of northern Europe 



south of latitude 69° in Scandinavia, 

 and thence eastwards to the Ycnesci 

 valley, where, however, as usual, the 

 northern limit is several degrees farther 

 south. In southern Europe the species 

 is chiefly known as a migrant, although 

 stated to nest occasionally in some of 

 the mountains ; and to Africa and north- 

 western India it is a winter-visitor. To 

 England and Scotland, as well as Wales, 

 it is a summer-visitor, breeding in wooded 

 districts throughout the greater part of 

 the country, but graduall}' becoming 

 scarcer in the more northern Scottish 

 counties. Reports as to its occurrence 

 in Ireland appear to be unfounded. 



Although nesting on the ground — 

 frequently on the bank of a hedge 

 bounding a wood, but at other times in 

 open fields — after the manner of the 

 other members of the group, this pipit is essentially a woodland bird, 

 keeping, however, mainly to the outskirts of woods and plantations, 

 where it may be recognised by its wagtail-like flight and characteristic 

 song. Its food consists mainly of insects, which are captured in the 

 well-known wagtail-fashion. The nest is composed of grass mingled 

 with rootlets and moss and lined with hair and finer grass ; and the 

 eggs range in number from four to seven. The latter vary so greatly 

 that description is impossible on the present occasion, and it must 

 suffice to state that while the ground-colour ranges from purplish red 

 to greyish stone, the markings may be in the form of either dots or 

 blotches, consisting in each case of a superficial reddish-brown series 

 and an underlying set tending more to grey. 



ME ROWLAND ' 



TKKE-IMIMT. 



