BIRD-LIFE UPON THE CLIFFS. 231 



on the face of a wall-like rock. In autumn as 

 likely as not it will be observed in small parties, 

 flitting about the tangled ctibris of the shore; but 

 as spring draws on the birds separate into pairs, 

 and become associated with the cliffs and rocks 

 still more closely. Often now as we wander along 

 the shore the simple little song of the male bird 

 will greet us, as likely as not from some boulder 

 on the beach as from the lofty crags, for the bird 

 is equally at home singing in either spot. It nests 

 in May, and its home is usually most carefully 

 concealed under a stone or clod of earth, or in 

 some deep cranny in the rocks. Migratory Rock 

 Pipits pass along the south coast of Devonshire in 

 autumn and in spring. We have often remarked 

 them at both seasons. Those shot in spring are 

 suffused with a vinaceous tint on the underparts, 

 which are practically unspotted. These differences 

 may readily be remarked with the binocular. 

 These individuals belong to the North European 

 form of the Rock Pipit a fairly distinguishable 

 race, the Anthus rupestris of Nilsson. All these 

 "red" Pipits, however, by no means belong to 

 the latter race, for the ordinary form of the Rock 

 Pipit is frequently met with in this neighbourhood 



