LITTORAL LAND BIRDS. 269 
prefix “Cornish,” although the bird is just as scarce 
in Cornwall as elsewhere now. The food of this 
bird is chiefly composed of beetles, worms, grubs, 
and grain. The Chough breeds in colonies, which 
resort to lofty ocean cliffs, especially such where 
caves and fissures are plentiful. The nest is 
very similar to that of the Jackdaw, and varies a 
good deal in size. Sticks, heather stems, and dry 
stalks of plants form the outside; the cavity is lined 
with dry grass, roots, wool, and similar soft material. 
From four to six eggs are laid in May, creamy- 
white in ground colour, blotched and spotted with 
various shades of brown and gray. When dis- 
turbed, the Choughs fly out of their nest-holes, and 
behave generally in a very Jackdaw-like manner. 
The Chough appears to be a sedentary species in 
all parts of its distribution, 
ROCK PIPIT. 
In the present bird, the Axthus obscurus of 
ornithologists, we have one of the very few species 
of Passeres that are confined exclusively to maritime 
haunts. During the breeding season the Rock 
Pipit frequents the rock-bound coasts, often resort- 
ing to cliffs washed incessantly by the waves, rock 
stacks some distance from shore, and precipitous 
islands; but in winter it may be observed on the 
salt-marshes and stretches of sand. It is an olive- 
brown little bird on the upper parts, streaked with 
darker brown; the eye stripe and throat are nearly 
