274 cassell's book of birds. 



blackish brown ; the chin, throat, and front of the neck are light rust-red ; the sides of the throat, 

 cheeks, and region of the ear black, with white shafts to the feathers ; the belly and centre of the 

 breast are whitish yellow, the sides pale greenish brown, with dark markings. The length of 

 this species is five inches, the wing measures two inches and one-sixth, and the tail one inch and 

 one-third. 



The Flute-player, as this bird is called by the Peruvians, on account of its strange and very 

 beautiful voice, frequents the inmost recesses of the South American forests, where it lives in parties, 

 and seeks for insects and berries either upon the ground or on such branches as are not more than 

 two feet above its surface. During the middle of the day, according to Schomburghk, its song is 

 rarely or never heard. 



The PIPITS (Ant hi) form, as it were, a connecting link between the Warblers and Larks, and 

 until lately were classed among the latter birds. Their body is slender ; their wings, in which the third 

 and fourth quills are the longest, are of moderate size ; the upper wing-covers often of great length ; 

 the tail of medium size ; the tarsus slender ; the toes weak ; and the claws very large, the hindermost, 

 like that of the Lark, being prolonged into a spur. The beak, is thin, straight, narrow at its 

 base, and awl-shaped, its margins turn inwards, and are incised at the slightly-curved tip of the 

 upper mandible ; the smooth, glossy plumage is of a brownish or greenish hue. The young 

 usually resemble their parents. The family of Pipits comprises a great number of species distributed 

 over all parts of the world, some occupying mountain tracts, and others forests, plains, or marshy 

 districts. All live principally on the ground, and sometimes, but rarely, they perch on the branches 

 of trees. Their manner of progressing on terra firma is rather by a rapid running step than by a 

 series of leaps, and is accompanied by considerable agitation of the whole body, and constant gentle 

 whisking of the tail. The flight of the Pipits is rapid, light, and undulatory, when they are desirous 

 of going to any considerable distance, but changes to a hovering and fluttering motion when they rise 

 into the air previous to singing. They are very intelligent, and their song, though simple, is agree- 

 able ; the call is a kind of piping sound, whence the name of Pipits, by which they are distinguished. 

 Their principal food consists of beetles, moths, flies, snails, and aphides ; some species also devour 

 spiders and worms, and, according to recent observations, various kinds of seeds ; all seek their food 

 on the ground, and rarely seize their prey in the air, or by darting from the branches of trees or 

 bushes. The nest is loosely formed of blades of grass, portions of plants and roots, lined with wool 

 or hair, and is constructed on the ground. The eggs are of a dusky hue, and faintly marked with 

 spots and streaks. The female alone broods, but both parents assist in tending the young. Most 

 species lay more than once in the year. 



THE MEADOW PIPIT, OR MEADOW TITLING. 



The Meadow Pipit, or Meadow Titling (Anthus pratensis), is of a greenish brown, spotted 

 with brownish black on the upper portion of the body ; the breast is light rust-red, spotted with dark 

 brown ; the throat and belly are whitish, and a yellowish white streak passes over the eyes ; the quills 

 are brownish black, with light edges, and the feathers of the wing-covers bordered with dull green ; 

 the tail-feathers are brownish black, edged with olive-green, those at the exterior decorated with a 

 large white spot at the tip. The eye is dark brown, the beak grey, and the foot reddish grey. This 

 species is six inches long, and nine and a half broad ; the wing measures two inches and five-sixths, 

 and the tail two inches and a quarter. The female is a trifle smaller than her mate. 



The Meadow Pipit is known to breed in all the northern half of the European continent, and is 

 also met with in North-western Asia and North Africa. During the course of its journeyings in Egypt 



