576 MOTACILLID^E. 



ing to Thompson, it is in Ireland very common from' 

 meadows and bogs at the seaside to humid tracts on the 

 highest mountains, while the same may certainly be said 

 as regards England. In many of the northern parts of the 

 country it is perhaps the most abundant of small birds, if 

 indeed it be not the only one visible in the wilder and more 

 desolate spots. Even in St. Kilda it may be seen, says 

 Mr. Gray, round the huts of the lonely inhabitants, its 

 notes during one time of the year being almost the only 

 sound of the kind which breaks the monotony of their life, 

 and, according to Saxby, it is now a common species in all 

 parts of Shetland, though many persons believe it has 

 but recently become plentiful there. Its haunts vary much 

 with the season, for in winter it in a great measure leaves 

 the bleaker and more barren situations, betaking itself to 

 such places as afford better shelter and supplies of food, 

 and especially to the sea-shore. Resident as a species, it 

 is thus as an individual decidedly migrant, and to the 

 eastern and southern counties of England it is a regular 

 autumn-visitor, its flocks, which are often large, forming 

 part of the advanced guard of the great emigrant host 

 whose yearly departure from our coasts has been so well 

 observed by Mr. Knox. Its return in spring has also been 

 noticed by Mr. Cordeaux. When progressing from place 

 to place, the flight of this bird is performed by short, 

 undulatory jerks ; but during the breeding-season, when in 

 attendance on his mate and undisturbed, the cock rises in 

 the air with an equal vibratory motion to the height of 

 thirty feet or more, singing some soft, musical notes, and 

 then, gliding down with wings and tail outspread and rigid, 

 returns to the ground. Occasionally it may be seen to 

 settle on a low bush or a rail, but it cannot be said to perch 

 habitually on trees, as does the Tree-Pipit. 



The Meadow-Pipit, like others of the genus, seeks its food 

 on the ground, along which it runs nimbly in pursuit of 

 insects, worms and small slugs, occasionally mounting any 

 elevation that may be near, such as a clod of earth or a stone, 

 to look round, when it will stand for a few seconds, moving 



