PIPITS. 



^3 



hollow bank, in elevated piles of wood by the side of the river, and sometimef 

 in heaps of stones. It is composed of dry grass, fibrous roots, and moss, con 

 nected carelessly together, and lined with horsehair and feathers in abundance. 

 The eggs are of a bluish white, spotted with brown. There are usually two 

 broods in the year. The male relieves the female during some hours of the 

 day from the confinement of incubation. 



Other species, found in most parts of the world, frequent the banks of rivers, 

 or moors and meadows that are occasionally overflowed with water ; they may 

 likewise be seen on plains and in open places, often wading in the shallow 

 streams and pools up to the knee in pursuit of their food, which consists of 



Fig. 59.— The White Wagtail (Motacilla alba). 



small insects, larvae, and worms. They are continually in motion, either run- 

 ning with great rapidity, or flying for a trifling distance near the surface of 

 the ground, while capturing their food on the wing ; their flight, on such occa- 

 sions, being interrupted and performed by jerks. At certain seasons of the 

 year they migrate. The nest of the female is generally constructed in a heap 

 of stones upon the ground, though sometimes she selects a hole in the top of 

 some decayed tree. The nest is composed of moss, fibres of roots, and grass 

 intermixed with wool, and lined with hair. The eggs are usually five or six in 

 number. 



A peculiar group, distinguished as Mnscisaxicola, is exclusively South 

 American. " These birds," says Mr. Darwin, " frequent open places, such as 

 sandy dunes, rocky coasts, and sea-beaches, or are met with near the summits 

 of high mountains, where vegetation and other birds cease to occur. They 

 are usually observed in very small flocks, hopping and flying from stone to 



