390 ANTHID.E. 



that are to be seen in sucli localities. It is not, however, 

 exclusively confined to heath and hill, but may also be found 

 in meadows and marsh land, frequenting more exposed situa- 

 tions during summer, and seeking the shelter of valleys and 

 plains in winter. When progressing from place to place, the 

 flight of this bird is performed by short unequal jerks ; but 

 when in attendance on its mate and undisturbed, it rises 

 with an equal vibratory motion, and sings some musical soft 

 notes on the wing, sometimes while hovering over its nest, 

 and returns to the ground after singing. Occasionally it may 

 be seen to settle on a low bush ; but is rarely observed sitting 

 on a branch of a tree, or perched on a rail, which is the com- 

 mon habit of the Tree Pipit. The Meadow Pipit, when 

 standing on a slight mound of earth, a clot, or a stone, fre- 

 quently moves his tail up and down like a Wagtail ; and Mr. 

 Neville Wood mentions that he has heard him sing while 

 thus situated on or very near the earth. 



The Meadow Pipit seeks its food on the ground, along 

 which it runs nimbly in pursuit of insects, worms, and small 

 slugs. In the stomach of one of these birds, examined in 

 the month of December, Mr. Thompson of Belfast found two 

 specimens of Bulimus hibricus. According to this gentle- 

 man, the name of the Meadow Pipit in the north of Ire- 

 land is Moss-cheeper, the term having reference to the moss 

 and peat covering the ground mostly inhabited by the bird, 

 and also to its call-note. In the county of Kerry, Mr. 

 Thompson adds, this bird is called Wekeen, another refer- 

 ence probably to the double-ee-like sound of its call-note. Sir 

 Robert Sibbald, in his Scotia Illustrata, published in 1684, 

 and considered to be the first Fauna of Scotland, gives Moss- 

 cheeper and Titling as the names of the Meadow Pipit in 

 that country. 



The nest of this bird is built on the ground, among grass 

 generally : it is constructed externally of dried bents, lined 



I 



