THE MEADOW-PIPIT. 325 



plumage of the young, are very like each other, as also are 

 the sexes at that time, and during the early part of the 

 winter. The birds come to the lower pastures, turnip- 

 fields, and sometimes, but more rarely, to the stubble land, 

 in small flocks, in September and October. At these times, 

 they generally roost on the ground, not so close together as 

 some of the other species that have that habit ; and as they 

 are different in colour from the more solitary birds that 

 are seen in the spring, and also fly differently, they are a 

 little perplexing to those who do not attend to their annual 

 changes. 



In the autumn they have only their common flight, which 

 is performed by jerks, in the course of which the birds rise 

 and fall, and continue uttering their feeble and complaining 

 " peek." In the course of the winter they gradually acquire 

 more of that brown which may be regarded as the field colour 

 of British birds, and the shades of which vary from dry sand 

 through all the earth-tints to humid peat ; and with the colour 

 (which however is duller than in the true larks) they acquire 

 something of the speckling of the larks ; and though they do 

 not soar with the majesty or sing with the power of the lark, 

 they do mount up in a manner different from that which they 

 display at other seasons, and they have not an unpleasant 

 though a feeble song. Their motion in ascending is a curious 

 combination of leaping and fluttering, the wings being perpe- 

 tually in motion to prevent that descent after the stroke which 

 is so conspicuous in their common flight. The labour of 

 ascending, though they do not go very high, appears to be 

 enough for them without the effort of voice ; and therefore 

 they do not sing till they have got to the top of their height, 

 or rather are on the descent, which is performed in an easy 

 sliding manner, and sometimes perpendicular. 



Their ascent and song are commenced early, as early as those 

 of the lark ; but they cannot be mistaken for each other ; 



