MOTACILLID.E. 



THE MEADOW-PIPIT. 



Anthus pratensis (Linnaeus). 



The Meadow-Pipit, generally known as the Titlark, and locally 

 by the names of Titling, Moss-cheeper, Ling-bird &c., is the smallest 

 and most abundant member of the genus throughout the British 

 Islands. During summer it is equally at home on lowland pas- 

 tures and elevated moors ; but in winter the higher and bleaker 

 situations are deserted for milder and more sheltered localities, 

 especially those in the vicinity of the sea-coast. In autumn con- 

 siderable numbers leave our shores altogether ; a return migration 

 taking place in spring. 



In the Fgeroes and Iceland the Meadow-Pipit is common in 

 summer, and in Greenland a single straggler was obtained in 1845. 

 Its breeding-range extends from the North Cape over the greater part 

 of Europe to the Pyrenees, the northern portions of Italy and the 

 Carpathians, and perhaps to some of the elevated regions still fur- 

 ther south ; but in the basin of the Mediterranean the bird is princi- 

 pally known as a visitor on migration and in winter. Eastward, it is 

 found in Asia Minor, Palestine, Western Turkestan, and the valley 

 of the Ob in Siberia ; while its southern wanderings reach North 

 Africa, from Morocco to Egypt. In the Canary Islands and Madeira 

 there is a resident insular form known as A. bertheloti, smaller in 

 size, with paler and less marked upper jiarts, narrowly striated 

 under parts, and no green tint in its plumage. 



The resident Meadow-Pipits begin to breed early in the spring, 

 but the migratory individuals which arrive from the south in April 



