148 



in N. Turkestan. In Palestine Tristram observed a few pairs up to mid 

 summer.] 

 Nest. In the British Islands on low ground the nest is generally found in 



marshy places, neatly concealed by a grass tussock or sometimes rushes, 

 but on the rough pastures and moorlands it is often found among the 

 heather. Other sites are on the edges of peat cuttings, in the scanty 

 grass growing among the sandhills by the sea coast, and the nest is said 

 to have been found in cornfields in the south of England. It is generally 

 well hidden, and the hen sits very closely and can be caught on the nest 

 without difficulty when its position is known. In Iceland it is sometimes 

 placed quite out of sight in some fissure in the ground. It is slight in 

 construction, and Lilford compares it to the inner cup of the Tree Pipit's 

 nest. The materials used are dead grasses and bents, sometimes with a 

 little moss in the foundation, lined with finer grasses and horsehair. Dia- 

 meter of cup about 2-lr in., depth l-J — li in. 

 Eggs. In the British Isles 4 to 6 in number as a rule, while a nest with 



7 eggs has been found on the Yorkshire moors. In Iceland usually 5 — 6, 

 once 7 (Hantzsch); while in Norway out of 14 nests found on the fjeld, 

 7 contained 6 eggs and 3 held 7. As a rule they show less variation than 

 those of the Tree Pipit, and generally belong to a brown or grey type, 

 thickly covered with fine spots, and often with a black hairstreak at the 

 big end. The pink type so common in the Tree Pipit only occurs very 

 rarely, and closely resembles that of the Grasshopper Warbler. Eggs with 

 a bluish ground and few, if any, pale grey markings are also occasionally 

 found, while others are greenish in tint. A remarkable set from Scotland 

 has Bunting-like streaks on a dull stone coloured ground, and an Irish 

 set has deep rich brown caps to the big end (Brit. Mus.). 



Breeding In the British Isles two broods are generally reared. The first eggs 



are found about April 20 in S. England and about a week later in Wales, 

 but not till mid-May in the Shetlands. From this time onward they may 

 be found through May and June till early in July. In Iceland rarely before 

 June; in S. Scandinavia however the first eggs are laid in May, but in 

 the high North often not till mid-June, while in the European plain 

 the breeding season does not begin till early in May. Incubation lasts 

 13—14 days. 



Measure- Average of 143 eggs (48 by Rey, 43 by Bau and 52 by the writer), 



19.34X14.19 mm., Max. 21.3X15.2 mm., Min. 17.2X13.1 and 17.7X13 

 mm. A dwarf egg from Westmoreland in the Brit. Mus. measures 10.3X8.6 

 mm. Average weight of 43 eggs (Bau), 121 mg., of 48 eggs (Rey), 114 mg. 

 23 full eggs from Ireland average 2.196 g. in weight (Foster). Curiously 

 enough Icelandic eggs are rather small; average of 16, 18.36X13.98 mm. 

 (Hantzsch). 



Season. 



ments. 



