MEADOW PIPIT. 455 



known on the heathery mountains of Scotland as it is in 

 England, Wales, or Ireland. According to Dr. Neill, Mr. 

 Bullock, the Rev. Mr. Low, the author of the Fauna 

 Orcadensis, and Mr. Dunn, it is common also in summer 

 on the islands of Orkney and Shetland, remaining on 

 some of the former throughout the year. It is common 

 also during summer in Denmark, Sweden, and Norway, 

 taking a very high northern range, and visiting even the 

 Faroe Islands and Iceland. It inhabits the whole of the 

 European continent, being common as far south as Spain, 

 Italy, and Corfu, frequenting the plains from October to 

 the spring, and passing the summer on the hills and moun- 

 tains. It inhabits Tangiers, Sicily, and Malta ; it is found 

 also in Egypt and at Trebizond : Mr. Gould has seen spe- 

 cimens from "Western India ; and M. Temminck includes 

 it in his Catalogue of the Birds of Japan. 



The beak of this bird, which is more slender than that of 

 the Tree Pipit, is dark brown, but inclining to light yellow 

 brown at the base of the under mandible : irides hazel ; the 

 feathers of the head, neck, back, wing, and upper tail- 

 coverts, dark brown in the middle, much lighter brown at 

 the margin all round ; both sets of wing-coverts broadly 

 edged with pale wood-brown ; primaries, secondaries, and 

 tertials, brownish black, edged with light brown ; the two 

 central tail-feathers rather shorter than the others, and 

 dark brown; the outer tail-feather on each side white, 

 with a small patch of brown on the broad inner web ; the 

 next tail-feather on each side dark brown, with a small 

 patch of white at the tip of the inner web ; the six other 

 tail-feathers blackish brown ; the chin, throat, and sides of 

 the neck, pale brownish white ; ear-coverts a uniform patch 

 of darker brown ; the breast spotted with dark brown, on 

 dull white, tinged with brown, the spots more numerous 

 than on the same part in the Tree Pipit ; belly and under 



