WAGTAILS 431 



starts, and other warblers. Its favorite hunting places are the tips 

 of spruce branches, over which it passes with a quick motion and a 

 peculiar and constant sidewise jerk of the tail. Mr. Scott says it 

 has a clear whistling song. 



FAMILY MOTACILLID JE : WAGTAILS. 



GENUS ANTHUS. 



General Characters. Bill shorter than head, about as wide as high at 

 base, compressed, acute, and notched at tip ; wings longer than tail. 



KEY TO ADULTS. 



1. Hind claw decidedly longer than toe spragueii, p. 432. 



1'. Hind claw about equal to toe pensilvanicus, p. 431. 



Subgenus Anthus. 



697. Anthus pensilvanicus (Lath.). PIPIT. 



Hind claw about equal to toe. Adults in summer: upper parts gray- 

 ish brown, indistinctly 

 streaked ; wing blackish 

 ^^^^ brown, with two buffy 



wine 1 bars and light edg- 



r iir. >4 1 . . i *i i i i i 



ings ; tail blackish, inner 



web of outside feather largely white, second feather 

 tipped with white ; superciliary stripe and under parts Fig 543. 



light buffy, chin lighter, chest streaked with dusky. 

 Adults in winter : browner above, lighter below, streaks on breast usually 

 broader. Young: similar, but washed with brown, and more distinctly 

 streaked. Length : 6-7, wing 3.20-3.50, tail 2.65-2.85. 



Distribution. North America at large, breeding in the higher parts of 

 the Rocky Mountains, Cascades, and subarctic districts, wintering in the 

 Gulf states, Nevada, California, Mexico, and Central America. 



Nest. On ground, bulky and rather compact, made of dried mosses 

 and grasses, lined with hair and feathers. Eggs : 4 to 6, nearly uniform 

 brown from dense spotting. 



Food. Small shells, crustaceans, insects, and small seeds. 



Flocks of these strange little northerners with demure garb, plain- 

 tive voices, and the ways of wanderers are often met abroad in the 

 land in spring and fall. In some parts of the dry country they are 

 seen more generally in the seasons of heavy rainfall. They may be 

 met in a ploughed vineyard, on a vacant city lot, or in the open 

 country. If startled they rise from the ground showing their white 

 tail feathers, with a wild cheep fly for a short distance, wheel, and 

 return to their feeding ground. The earth usually matches their 

 tints so well that it is difficult to see them, though their wagging 

 heads and tilting tails help to catch the eye. 



In Colorado the pipits nest above timberline at an altitude of from 

 11,000 to 13,000 feet, and in August many of the birds wander to the 



