240 BRITISH BIRDS. 
breeds throughout Turkestan and South Siberia, as far east as Krasnoyarsk, 
and winters in South Persia and India. It seems probable that examples of 
the eastern Palearctic race occasionally wander into Europe, as I have a 
specimen from Heligoland of which the wing measures only 3°3 inch. 
The reputed occurrences of this species in Hastern Siberia, Mongolia, and 
China appear to refer to A. striolatus, which may easily be distinguished 
by the pure white instead of sandy brown on the outer tail-feathers. 
There are two tropical forms of the Tawny Pipit, one of them (4. pyr- 
rhonotus) being a resident in South Africa, and the other (A. jerdoni) in 
India. Both these species are slightly larger than the Tawny Pipit, and 
in both of them the striations on the upper parts are almost obsolete, 
except on the head. In both species the fourth primary is nearly as long 
as the first, second, and third; and the fifth primary is emarginated on the 
outer web; whilst in the Tawny Pipit the fourth primary is relatively some- 
what shorter, and only the second, third, and fourth are emarginated. 
These tropical forms have been considered identical by Blyth and 
Blanford ; but they may be distinguished from each other by the prevailing 
colour of the upper parts, which in the Indian bird varies from neutral 
brown to isabelline brown, whilst the South-African bird is at all seasons 
of the year much more fulvous, and may be further distinguished by the 
dark centres to the longest under tail-coverts and by its shorter innermost 
secondaries. 
The Tawny Pipit is almost a desert-bird, and is rarely seen except 
on dry sandy heaths and plains. England appears to have too damp a 
climate to suit its constitution, and is also situated almost at the extreme 
limit of its breeding-range. Even on the sandy plains of South Holland, 
where the soil is so poor that in the most fertile districts the farmers 
are seldom able to live entirely on the land, and possess a few tan-pits 
as an additional source of income, the Tawny Pipit is a somewhat rare 
bird, though it is common enough on the “dunes” or sand-hills on the 
southern shores of the Baltic as far north as Riga. It must be looked 
upon as a southern bird which never winters north of the Mediterranean, 
and only migrates in spring as far north as our latitude to exceptionally 
favourable localities, where something approaching a desert may be found. 
I found it very common in Greece, and it is the only species of this 
genus that breeds there. The Meadow-Pipit, and probably also the Red- 
throated and Water-Pipits, spend their winters in that country ; the Tree- 
Pipit passes through in spring and autumn on migration ; but the Tawny 
Pipit makes Greece its summer home. This bird frequents the valleys in 
Greece and Asia Minor, and is rarely seen in either country much more 
than a thousand feet above the level of the sea. It seems to prefer the 
open plains, and is very common in the almost treeless valley between the 
Parnassus and Thermopyle; but in the valleys south of the Parnassus, 
