ACROSS THE OPEN FIELDS AND DOWNS. 73 



of the tree-tops, his nest is always on the ground, 

 generally among the mowing grass, less frequently 

 among the shorter herbage of the pastures, and 

 perhaps most rarely of all among the weeds upon 

 the banks below the hedges. I have repeatedly 

 remarked, as confirmation of the fact of this 

 bird returning to old haunts yearly, that it will 

 continue to use a field for a nesting-place which, 

 owing to rotation of crops, has changed from 

 mowing grass to pasture, or from pasture to 

 corn. The nest is very similar to that of the 

 Whinchat a slightly-built little structure, made 

 of dry grass and bits of moss, and lined with hair. 

 The four or five eggs vary considerably in colour 

 dull white, or olive-green, or grayish white in 

 ground colour, variously spotted and blotched 

 with purplish brown or olive-brown, and some- 

 times with one or two streaks of blackish brown. 

 Eggs of the same clutch are invariably similar, 

 however. The female sits closely ; indeed, all 

 the summer through she keeps much to the 

 ground. For some little time after they leave 

 the nest the young are tended by their parents ; 

 yet by the time the moulting season is over 

 these parties have mostly dispersed. All the 

 remaining time of their stay the Tree Pipits keep 

 to the pastures and the fields, roosting on the 

 ground, yet when flushed often taking refuge 

 in the nearest trees. The habit of sitting on 

 the tree-tops peculiar to the male also changes, 

 and he affects the ground as much as his mate 

 when his song ceases for the season. The food 

 of the Tree Pipit consists of insects and their 

 larvae, and small worms. The bird may also 



