THE MEADOW-PIPIT. 179 



Latter half of May and early June ; occasionally early in May. 

 One brood. Incubation. Lasts 13-14 days, apparently by hen 

 only. 



FOOD. Chiefly insects (small coleoptera, orthoptera, many species 

 of diptera, hymenoptera, etc., as well as their ' larvse), also 

 spiders. 



DISTRIBUTION. England and Wales. Summer-resident. Fairly 

 distributed and common except west Cornwall, but occurs autumn 

 and has bred on Scilly Isles. Scotland. Plentiful south-west and 

 fairly distributed elsewhere to central, but rarer northwards ; 

 very rare Sutherland, and does not breed Caithness, not recorded 

 Shetlands, and only once or twice Orkneys and O. Hebrides until 

 autumn 1910 when a good many St. Kilda and 1913 when quite 

 abundant Auskerry, regular spring and autumn passage-migrant 

 Fair Isle. Ireland. One singing co. Gal way May 21, 1914. Several 

 Sept. and Oct. 1912, 1913 and 1915 Tuskar Rock (Wexford). One 

 Sept. 1913 Rockabill (Dublin). Previously reported occurrences 

 not authenticated. 



DISTRIBUTION. Abroad. Europe from Tromso and north Russia 

 to north Spain, higher portions of Italy, and in small numbers to 

 south-east Europe (mountains of Greece), in Asia to the Yenisei 

 and Tian-Shan. Migrates in winter to Mediterranean, tropical 

 Africa, and north-west India. Replaced by an allied race (often 

 treated as separate species) in north-east Siberia, Japan, China 

 .and bv others in Kashmir, Kansu and south-west China. 



ANTHUS PRATENSIS 



71. Anthus pratensis (L.) THE MEADOW-PIPIT. 



ALAUDA PRATENSIS Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., ed. x, i, p. 166 (1758 "Habitat 

 in Europae pratis." Restricted typical locality : Sweden). 

 Anthus pratensis (Linnaeus), Yarrell, I, p. 575 ; Saunders, p. 133. 



DESCRIPTION. Adult male and female. Winter. Crown, nape, 

 mantle and back olive, greenish-brown, or buffish-brown (occasion- 

 ally pinkish-brown), streaked black-brown ; rump and upper 

 tail-coverts same but almost uniform with only very fine indistinct 

 dark streaks ; superciliary stripe greyish or yellowish-white ; 

 ear-coverts brown or yellowish-brown ; chin, centre of throat, 

 belly, and under tail-coverts whitish-grey or yellowish-buff 

 (occasionally pinkish-buff) ; sides of throat, breast and flanks 

 :same but broadly streaked brown-black ; axillaries dusky-grey 

 fringed very pale yellow ; tail-feathers black-brown, central pair 

 fringed same colour as upper tail-coverts, outer pair with dusky- 

 white outer web and large white wedge-shaped mark on inner 



N 2 



