BIRDS OF MARLBOROUGH. 107 



Parus ater. Cole Tit. 



Pants palustris. Marsh Tit. 

 Its nest has been taken in a pollard willow at Manton. 



Parus caudatns. Long-tailed Tit. 



Motacilla Yarrellii. Pied Wagtail. 

 The situation of a nest of this bird found in 1857 is so 

 peculiar as to make it worth recording. It was placed in 

 a fir-tree at the Eight Walks, some 15 feet from the ground ; 

 there is no running water within three miles, and no water 

 at all, with the exception of some small ponds which are 

 almost dry in summer. The nest contained four fresh eggs, 

 and the old birds were seen repeatedly in the vicinity. 



Motacilla boarula. Grey Wagtail. 



Not uncommon in winter in the immediate vicinity of 

 the Kennet. 



Motacilla flava. Ray's Wagtail. 



Common in summer. A pair of these birds may constantly 

 be seen during the summer months about the railings that 

 run down the middle of the first field on the path from the 

 College to the Forest. 



Anthus arboreus. Tree Pipit. 



The eggs of this species vary more than those of any 

 other British bird, the Guillemot only excepted. During 

 the years 1856-1858 three well-marked varieties were 

 taken in the neighbourhood of Marlborough : one of a 

 uniform brown colour ; another with a greyish ground and 

 mottled all over with purple spots ; a third with a whitish 

 ground and large red blotches, exactly similar to some 

 handsome varieties of the Spotted Flycatcher. 



Anthus pratensis. Meadow Pipit. 



