182 A PRACTICAL HANDBOOK OF BRITISH BIRDS. 



north along west coast or through western counties England, 

 rather than east coast. Nestlings ringed in England have migrated 

 to France and Portugal. 



Distribution. — Abroad. — Europe from Iceland, the Faeroes, and 

 North Cape to Pyrenees, Itaty, and Carpathian Mountains, east- 

 wards to west Siberia and north Turkestan. Migrant, wintering 

 in the Mediterranean countries, north Africa, Syi'ia, and Asia Minor. 

 Casual in Greenland. 



ANTHUS CERVINUS 



72. Anthus cervinus (Pall.)— THE RED-THROATED PIPIT. 



MoTACiLLA CERViNA Pallas, Zoogr. Rosso-As., I, p. 511 (1827 — Siberia). 

 Anthus cervinus (Pallas), Saunders, p. 135. 



Description. — Adult -male. Winter. — Whole upper-parts, including 

 rump and upper tail-coverts, greyish- to bufiish-brown, broadly 

 streaked black-brown, each feather being black-brown fringed 

 buf&sh- or greyish-brown ; lores superciliary stripe, chin and throat 

 uniform pearh'- to buffish-pink with a few broAvn-black streaks 

 forming indefinite moustachial stripes ; ear-coverts buffish-brown ; 

 breast and flanks pale buff or pale pinkish-buff broadly streaked 

 brown-black ; belly and under tail-coverts uniform pale buff ; 

 axillaries dusky grey, fringed pale buff ; tail-feathers black-bro^uTi, 

 central pair fringed as upj)er tail-coverts, outer pair with dusky- 

 white outer web and large white wedge-shaped mark on inner web, 

 penultimate pair with small wedge-shaped white mark at tip of 

 inner web, next pair sometimes with very small white mark at 

 tip ; primaries and secondaries black-brown fringed on inner 

 webs dusky-grey, on outer pale buff ; inner secondaries, greater 

 and median coverts with broader and paler edgings and tips. 

 This plumage is acquired by complete moult in July-Aug. 

 Summer. — A moult like that of Meadow-Pipit takes place January 

 to April. Upper-breast becomes either uniform pink like throat, 

 or with a few narrow black-brown streaks, or buffish-pink streaked 

 as heavily as in winter (amount of streaking varies considerably), 

 rest of plumage as in winter but in late summer by abrasion upper- 

 parts become darker and under-parts paler. 



Adult female. Winter. — ^Like male but lores, eye-stripe, 

 chin and throat whitish-buff without pink. Summer. — Some 

 specimens indistinguishable from males but very rarely so uniform 

 pink on breast as some males, usually chin and throat are more buff 

 and less pink than in male, and breast with scarcely any pink and 

 much streaked like male in winter. In late summer chin and throat 

 often become whitish-buff only tinged pink. 



Nestling. — Down, greyish-black ; distribution, inner and outer 



