

Meadow Pipit. 181 



it is the last of the smaller migratory birds that takes its depar- 

 ture for the south.* In Ireland and Scotland it is known as the 



* Titling' and 'Moss-cheeper,' the latter in allusion to the moss 

 and peat covered ground in which it delights, and also to its 

 call-note. In the northern counties of England it is called the 



* Ling Bird,' again from its partiality for the moors ; but in most 

 places it is generally known as the Titlark. It sings in the air 

 as it descends to the earth, as its cousin the Tree Pipit does in 

 descending to some lofty tree-top ; it is a quiet, unobtrusive 

 bird, builds its nest on the ground, and is very frequently the 

 foster-parent of the young cuckoo : its hind toe is furnished with 

 an elongated and straightened claw ; its- bill is slender; it warbles 

 rather than sings ; and its flight consists in short jerks. The 

 Rev. G. Marsh said that its scent is so strong that pointers com- 

 monly mistake it for the partridge indeed, much more frequently 

 than they do the skylark. 



In France, as in England, it is known under many names, as 

 Pipit Farlouse and le Cujelier, and I'Alouette des Pr<?s; in 

 Germany, it is Wiesenpieper ; and in Sweden, Ang-Pipldrka. In 

 Spain and Portugal, as is so often the case in those countries, 

 the several species are not recognised; but all the Pipits in 

 Spain are called Cinceta, and in Portugal Sombria and Cia. 



This closes the list of the tooth-billed perchers resident in or 

 visiting Wiltshire. 



* Lloyd's ' Scandinavian Adventures,' vol. ii., p. 304. 



