BIRDS OF ICELAND 13 



tions, but occasionally on lake islets, or amongst wild 

 lava tracts at a considerable distance from any house. 



The bird is so like the Pied Wagtail in plumage 

 that it does not seem necessary to give a detailed 

 description, more especially as there is no other bird 

 in Iceland with which it can well be confounded ; but 

 I may mention that the male always has a grey, not 

 a black back, as in the Pied Wagtail, and the grey 

 tints are somewhat lighter and clearer. Length 7J 

 inches, wing 3-J inches. 



Anthus pratensis (Linn.). Meadow Pipit. 



Native names : ' Grd-titlingur,' ' )?ut"u-titlingur.' (' Tit- 

 lingur ' is a name applied to any small twittering 

 bird ; ' gra,' of course, means ' grey ' ; ' J^iifa ' is a 

 tussock.) 



An abundant summer visitor, common everywhere 

 from May till September. I have found nests with 

 fresh eggs from June 25 till July 15. In Iceland, 

 as an apparent set-off to the dangers of the spring 

 and autumn flight across the turbulent North Atlantic, 

 the Meadow Pipit enjoys an entire immunity from the 

 attentions of the Cuckoo, which is such a pest to it 

 in Britain. As it seems to form the favourite prey of 

 the Merlin, however, it is 'not all beer and skittles' 

 in Iceland. 



The nest is placed on a bank-side amongst some 

 trailing shrub, or under a grassy tussock, and is made 

 of fine dead grass with a horsehair lining, and some- 



