MEADOW PIPIT. 431 



dull white, tinged with brown, the spots more numerous 

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

 coverts dull white tinged with brown ; legs, toes, and claws, 

 light brown ; the claw of the hind toe slender, slightly 

 curved, and as long as the toe. 



The plumage obtained at the moult which immediately 

 follows the rearing of the young, has on the upper surface a 

 rich tinge of olive mixed with the light brown colour, and 

 the under surface is enriched with an ochreous yellow, both 

 these colours remaining till the following spring, about 

 which time it is lost by degrees, apparently from the age of 

 the feather. 



The whole length of the bird is six inches. From the 

 carpal joint to the end of the longest primary three inches, 

 to three inches and one-eighth : the first four quill-feathers 

 nearly equal in length, but the first is the most pointed in 

 shape, and rather the longest in the wing. 



Young birds of the year have the olivaceous and yellow 

 tints similar to those on the plumage of the parent birds in 

 autumn after their moult. 



