A FAIR DESCENT in 



raised, especially when nearing the ground, to some 

 height above the back, and the fragile body, sus- 

 pended between them like the car of a tiny balloon, 

 seems to swing and sway with the air. The tail, 

 though downward-borne with the rest of the bird, 

 feels still some " skyey influences," for it is "tip- 

 tilted," and as " like the petal of a flower," I fancy, 

 as any nose on any face. As the bird nears the 

 heather from which he started — for he especially 

 loves the moorlands — he, too (perhaps all birds 

 have), has a way of gliding a little onwards above 

 it, poised in this manner, which adds much to the 

 grace of his descent. Then, softly sinking amidst 

 it, he sits elastic on a springy spray, or walks with 

 dainty, picked steps over the sandy shoals that lie 

 amidst its tufty sea. This, indeed, is one of his 

 show descents. Not all of them are so pretty. In 

 some the wings are not quite so raised, so that their 

 lighter-coloured under-surface — an especial point of 

 beauty — is not seen. Sometimes, too, the titlark 

 plunges and sweeps earthwards almost perpendi- 

 cularly, his tail trailing after him like a little brown 

 comet. But, whatever he does, he is a dainty little 

 bird with a beauty all his own, and which is none 

 the less for being of that kind which is not showy, 

 but " sober, steadfast, and demure." 



Now does this flight, which I have described — 

 the mounting and return to earth again — more 

 resemble that of a lark or a wagtail ? It is the new 

 way to class the pipits with the latter birds, instead 

 of with the former, which, now, they " only super- 

 ficially resemble." Had they been classed, hitherto, 

 with the wagtails, it would, probably, have been 



