TREE-PIPIT. 223 



ning about like a Wagtail, but seldom so quickly. Dixon writes : " In 

 August, when the corn is soft and milky, and, indeed, up to the period of 

 ripening, the Tree-Pipit is repeatedly seen amongst it. Formerly I was 

 somewhat puzzled by the visits of several soft-billed birds to the corn-fields, 

 and it was not until I had spent much time in observation and dissection 

 that I discovered that these visits were for the purpose of feeding on the 

 corn. The Tree-Pipit is one of the insectivorous birds most commonly 

 found in corn-fields, and by exercising a little caution you may see it shell- 

 ing out the wheat with as much dexterity as the Sparrow. This observa- 

 tion is also confirmed by the observant Macgillivray, who found in the 

 stomach of a bird of this species husks of small seeds and a considerable 

 amount of mineral fragments." 



The Tree-Pipit congregates into little parties early in September, and 

 leaves our shores by the end of the month or early in October ; but a few 

 linger still later, and examples have been shot in November. 



The general colour of the upper parts of the Tree-Pipit in spring plumage 

 is an almost neutral brown, and the dark centres of the feathers are well 

 defined except on the rump ; the general colour of the underparts is buffish 

 white, which fades considerably during the summer; the spots on the 

 breast are always well developed, but those on the flanks less so. Nearly 

 half of the outside tail-feather is white, but that on the penultimate feather 

 measures little more than half an inch, and in both the white is very slightly 

 suffused with brown. Bill brown, paler at the base of the lower mandible ; 

 legs, feet, and claws pale yellowish brown, much lighter than those of the 

 Meadow-Pipit ; irides dark hazel. The tarsus is somewhat short, measuring 

 less than an inch. The most important character in the Tree-Pipit is its 

 short hind claw, which only measures '35 inch and is much curved. The 

 female is scarcely distinguishable from the male. After the autumn moult 

 the brown of the upper parts is somewhat richer in colour, and the breast 

 is more decidedly suffused with buff. Birds of the year are somewhat 

 more profusely spotted on the breast and flanks, which is still more the 

 case with young in first plumage. 



