38 THE SMALLER BRITISH BIRDS. 



flapping his wings and opening his mouth, as he sits on a bush or 

 railing to receive unnumbered delicacies from the beak of his foster- 

 parent." How bright and fresh is the plumage of these Pipits in the 

 early spring, when on a warm sunny day we find them in company 

 with the Whine-hat and Stonechat amongst the yellow gorse. Flitting 

 from bush to bush, they rise and fall in the full tide of song, or 

 chase each other in amorous flight; and sad indeed must be the heart 

 that at such a time catches no inspiration from these sights and sounds. 

 Many of those birds in their autumn migrations are killed by flying 

 against the upper windows of lighthouses on the coast. 



The Alauda campestris, or Field Lark, as some naturalists call this 

 bird, is about six inches and a half long, and weighs about five drachms ; 

 it has a dusky bill with a yellowish brown edging, and from it down 

 the sides of the neck, extends a row of dusky spots ; the head, crown, 

 back of the neck, and nape, are brown; the chin, throat, and sides of 

 the neck lighter yellowish brown or reddish white, growing paler at 

 the breast, where the characteristic spots of darker brown; the under- 

 neath parts are dull white, with a brownish tinge. After the autumnal 

 moult, all the lighter parts get a faint golden tinge, and the browns 

 become olive. A. very beautiful variety of this bird is described by 

 Mr. W. Thompson, of Belfast ; the plumage was mostly white and rich 

 primrose yellow, with here and there brown markings, which added to 

 the beauty of the effect. 



Perhaps the commonest name for this species is the Tit Lark. It 

 is found certainly in three quarters of the globe Europe, Asia, and 

 Africa, extending in the first quarter as far north as beyond the arctic 

 circle.. With us it is much the most common species of its family. 

 In all places, and at all seasons, it may be occasionally seen and heard, 

 sometimes in a melodious though somewhat weak warble, at others in 

 its ordinary note, a gentle peep, peep, hence probably the name Pipit, 

 or if alarmed a sharp tret, tret. It feeds upon insects of all kinds 

 and in all stages of growth; "in seeking which," says Neville Wood, 

 'it often turns up small stones on the commons it frequents; beetles, 

 caterpillars, and different cr. ;,taceous insects are also devoured with 

 avidity. In winter these birds are less at a loss for food in the event 

 of severe and long-protracted frost, than many birds of the cultivated 

 and sheltered lowlands, and probably a far smaller proportion of them 

 fall a prey to either hunger or cold than our friendly and familiar 

 neighbours, whose numbers are annually thinned by the rigours of our 

 northern winters." 



