36S THE MEADOW PIPIT. 



The nest of the Wagtail is generally placed at no great distance from 

 water, and is ahvavs built in some retired situation. Holes in walls, 

 the hollows of aged trees, or niches in old gravel-pits are favorite 

 localities with this bird. Heaps of large stones are also in great favor 

 with the Wagtail, and I have generally found that wherever a pile of 

 rough stones has remained for some time in the vicinity of water, a 

 Wagtail's nest is almost invariably somewhere within it. I have 

 also found the nest in heaps of dry brushwood piled up for the purpose 

 of l)eing cut into fiigots. In every case the nest is placed at a consid- 

 erable depth. The eggs are generally four or five in number, and their 

 color is gray-white, speckled with a great number of very small brown 

 spots. 



The colorinsr of the Pied Wao^tail is almost entirely black and white, 

 verv boldly disposed, and distributed as follows : The top of the head, 

 the nape of the neck, part of the shoulders, the chin, neck, and throat, 

 are jetty black, contrasting boldly with the pure snowy w^hite of the 

 sides of 'the face and the white patch on the sides of the neck. The 

 upper tail-coverts and the coverts of the wings are also black. The 

 quill feathers of the wings are black, edged on the outer web with a 

 lighter hue. The two exterior feathers of the tail are pure white, 

 eilged on the inner web with white, and the remainder jetty black. 

 The under parts of the body are grayish white, taking a blue tint upon 

 the flanks. The entire length of the bird is between seven and eight 

 inch&s. This is the summer plumage of the male bird. In the winter 

 the chin and throat exchange their jetty hue for a pure white, leaving 

 only a collar of black round the throat. The female much resembles 

 her mate in the general coloring of her plumage, but is about half an 

 inch shorter. 



The Pipits— or Titlarks as they are sometimes called — form a 

 well-marked group, which possesses the long hind toe of the hawk, 

 together with very similar plumage, and also bears the long tail 

 which is found in the wagtails. Several species of Pipit inhabit 

 P^nghind. 



The best known is the common Meadow Pipit, or Meadow Titling, 

 a bird which may be seen throughout the year upon moors, waste-lands, 

 and marshy ground, changing its locality according to the season of 

 year. It is a pretty though rather sombre little bird, and is quick and 

 active in its movements, often jerking its long tail in a fashion that 

 reminds the observer of the wagtail's habits. It moves with consider- 

 al)le celerity, tripping over the rough and rocky ground which it 

 frequents, and picking up insects with the stroke of its unerring beak. 

 Its food, however, is of a mixed description, as in the crops of several 

 individuals were found seeds, insects, and water-shells, some of the latter 

 being entire. 



