AXTHUS. 209 



Anthus maculatus, Hodgs. The Indian Tree- Pipit. 



Pipastes agilis (Sykes), Jerd. B. Ind. ii, p. 228 ; Hume, Rouyh Draft 

 N. $ E. no. 590. 



The Indian Tree-Pipit, so common throughout the plains of 

 India from north to south during the cold season, breeds but spar- 

 ingly, if at all, within our limits. 



All I know of its nidification is that a loose grass nest, contaiu- 

 ing a sino" _rg, taken on the 3rd June, and a male bird (said to 

 have been shot on the nest) were sent to me from Upper Kooloo. 

 The nest was found on the snowy range bounding Spiti, at an ele- 

 vation of probably 11,000 feet, at any rate above the Pines. 



Even if this was not the nest of the Pipit, the latter must, from 

 the season, have been breeding somewhere near, and this chiefly is 

 my reason for mentioning the fact. 



I entertain no doubt of the good faith of my correspondent, but 

 he is no ornithologist : and the egg is so large, and so closely 

 resembles those of Oreocorys sylvanus, of which several accompa- 

 nied it, that I feel by no means sure of its authenticity. The egg 

 is a moderately broad oval, slightly compressed towards one end, 

 has a greyish-white ground, and is thickly and minutely speckled 

 and spotted all over with two different shades of rather pale dingy 

 purple. It is clearly the egg of a Pipit of some kind or other, but, 

 as I said before, I cannot vouch for its authenticity. The egg has 

 only a very faint gloss. It measures 0'93 by 0'68. 



The late Mr. A. Anderson was fortunate to find nests of this 

 Pipit himself. He writes : 



" Pushing on as quickly as possible for the region of the snows, 

 I arrived at Dhaknri Benak, which is at an elevation of nearly 

 11,000 feet, on the loth May. This was reputed to be almost a 

 sure find for Woodcocks, and it was marked off in my chart as one 

 of the chief places to be visited. Great, however, was my grief 

 when I was obliged to quit the place without ever flushing a bird, 

 notwithstanding that I employed an additional staff of coolies and 

 offered most tempting rewards for even the sight of one. 



" But though I had here to take temporary leave of the Wood- 

 cocks, I did not leave Dhakuri empty-handed, for the very last 

 pieces of cover I drew, out flew a Pipit from a tussock of long grass, 

 under the shelter of which was placed the nest, which contained 

 four hard-set * very black-looking eggs of the much-disputed (by 

 European ornithologists, I should add) Indian or Green-backed 

 Pipit (Anthus maculatus). The nest was deeply placed in the damp 



* These eggs were on the point of hatching, but I saved them by means of 

 carbolic acid. It may not be generally known that small eggs can be preserved 

 in this way by making a largish hole and inserting pieces of cotton- wool tightly 

 rolled into small pills well saturated with the acid ; they should thus be stuffed 

 fo the utmost, and then allowed to dry. Eggs prepared in this way ('. e. when 

 they are too far incubated to admit of beirg blown^ never go bad. 



YOL. II. 14 



