TITLARK PIPIT TITLING MEADOW TITLING MOSS 

 CREEPER LING BIRD MEADOW LARK. 



PLATE LXVIII. 



Anthus pratensis, ..... NEWTON. 



Alauda pratensis^ ..... LINNAEUS. 



THE Titlark, as it is generally called, is the smallest 

 and most common bird of the group, abounding alike 

 on pastures and moors. Its nest, which is rather bulky, is 

 placed either on or close to the ground, often in marshy 

 places, among grass, or in a tuft of heather, and under 

 the branch of a very low bush, a bank, or a wall of turf, 

 and is frequently much sunk in the ground, so as to escape 

 the eye. It is neatly composed of grass, or sometimes 

 fibrous roots, the finer portions constituting the lining, 

 with occasionally a little moss and hair, and is often care- 

 fully concealed. 



The eggs are laid about the middle of April, and the 

 young are abroad by the end of May. A second brood 

 is often produced about the middle of July. 



The eggs, from four to six in number, but commonly five, 

 are of a pale whitish grey, sometimes of a greenish or 

 bluish tint thickly mottled with different shades of brown, 

 especially near the larger end, the spots and specks sometimes 



150 



