THE PIPITS. I 13 



ern point being the south of Sweden. It arrives in South- 

 eastern Europe at the end of March or the beginning of April, 

 and reaches its more northern breeding ground at the end of 

 the latter month, or early in May. One of the best accounts 

 of the habits of this species is contributed by Mr. Dixon to 

 Mr. Seebohm's " History of British Birds," and is quoted at 

 length, as it illustrates a mode of life somewhat different to that 

 of our own Pipits: "The Tawny-Pipit is very common in the 

 more elevated parts of Algeria, and is a bird that cannot easily 

 be passed unseen. To look at its plumage one might almost ex- 

 pect to meet with it only in the desert ; but in summer, at any 

 rate, it does not frequent that sandy waste, and we only met 

 with it on the elevated plateaux beyond Constantine, and in 

 the neighbourhood of Batna and Lambessa. The road be- 

 tween these two latter places runs through rich meadows and 

 barley-fields, and abounded with Tawny-Pipits in abundance. 

 I saw them only in pairs ; they were very tame, and often 

 allowed themselves to be almost trodden upon before they 

 would take wing. I often saw them running about very quickly 

 over the bare pieces of ground, stopping now and then to look 

 round to see if they were being pursued. When flushed they 

 would often fly for a little distance in a very straightforward 

 manner, not undulating, as is their usual flight, and perch on 

 a little tuft of higher vegetation, or on a boulder, or even a 

 paling. Many of the birds were on the road, where you could 

 witness their actions very closely as they ran up and down like 

 a Wagtail, often giving their tail a sharp jerk, accompanied by 

 a flicking movement of the wings. They seemed to especially 

 prefer a large unenclosed plain of rough land on which no crop 

 was sown, what we should call summer fallow in England. 

 Here I repeatedly saw the birds soar into the air for a little 

 way and sing their loud but simple song, which put me in 

 mind of the Sky-Larks' notes, although not so rich or so sweet. 

 The species does not soar so high as the Tree-Pipit, and seems 

 anxious to get to the ground again. When alarmed by the report 

 of a gun, the birds close at hand would generally rise for some 

 distance into the air and betake themselves to safer quarters in 

 a drooping flight, uttering a short whit, or y hit, as they went. I 

 found an empty nest, which could only have belonged to this 

 bird, placed amongst the growing barley, which was about 



