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you will not observe him to soar in his somewhat graceful flights, 

 as he does in the spring- and early summer months. This bird 

 seems to be intermediate between the Wagtails and the true Larks; 

 like the latter, the Pipits have the hind claw elongated, but not to 

 so great an extent. It does not roll in the sand and dust itself 

 like the larks, but thrusts its beak into the water and sprinkles 

 itself, much after the manner of the wagtails ; it vibrates its tail 

 also like the latter, and runs along the ground with ease and 

 celerity, searching for insects and their larva, and small seeds, 

 which are its principal food. Its nest, which is placed on the 

 ground, underneath a small bush, or under a tuft of grass, is com- 

 posed of dried grass and vegetable fibres, and is lined with hair. 

 One I found last year had a regular tunnel to it through the 

 thick undergrowth ; if I had not seen the bird run off, it would 

 have been impossible to have found it, as it was the length of my 

 arm through the cover. The eggs number five or six, and they 

 vary so much that I will not attempt to describe them. Mr. 

 Hewitson says : — 



"Amongst our land birds, there is no species the eggs of which present so 

 many or such distinct varieties as those of the Tree Pipit. No one would at 

 first believe them to be eggs of the same species ; and it was not till I had 

 captured the bird upon each of the varieties, and also received them from Mr. 

 Doubleday, similarly attested, that I felt satisfactorily convinced upon the 

 subject." 



I have found all the known varieties of the eggs of this bird in this 

 county. The- female sits very close when incubating, and when 

 she leaves her nest, does so very quietly, running a short distance 

 on the ground before she takes flight. Although this bird seems 

 so ill adapted for long flights, an instance is on record of one 

 having alighted on board a vessel from Liverpool, at a distance of 

 at least thirteen hundred miles from the nearest mainland of South 

 America, and about nine hundred from the wild and barren island 

 of Georgia. The length of this bird is about six inches, and it 

 may be distinguished from the rest of the genus by having the hind 

 claw short and curved. 



