428 ANTHIDA. 
is not, however, exclusively confined to heath and_ hull, 
but may also be found in meadows and marsh land, fre- 
quenting more exposed situations during summer, and 
seeking the shelter of valleys and plains in winter. When 
progressing from place to place, the flight of this bird is per- 
formed by short unequal jerks; but when in attendance on 
its mate and undisturbed, it rises with an equal vibratory 
motion, and sings some musical soft notes on the wing, 
sometimes while hovering over its nest, and returns to the 
ground after singing. Occasionally it may be seen to 
settle on a low bush; but is rarely observed sitting on a 
branch of a tree, or perched on a rail, which is the com- 
mon habit of the Tree Pipit. The Meadow Pipit, when 
standing on a slight mound of earth, a clot, or a stone, 
frequently moves his tail up and down like a Wagtail; and 
Mr. Neville Wood mentions that he has heard him sing 
while thus situated on or very near the earth. 
The Meadow Pipit seeks its food on the ground, along 
which it runs nimbly in pursuit of insects, worms, and 
small slugs. In the stomach of one of these birds, ex- 
amined in the month of December, Mr. Thompson of Bel- 
fast found two specimens of Bulimus lubricus. According 
to this gentleman, the name of the Meadow Pipit in the 
north of Ireland is Moss-cheeper, the term having reference 
to the moss and peat covering the ground mostly in- 
habited by the bird, and also to its call-note. In the 
county of Kerry, Mr. Thompson adds, this bird is called 
Wekeen, another reference probably to the double-ce-like 
sound of its call-note. Sir Robert. Sibbald, in his Scotia 
Lllustrata, published in 1684, and considered to be the 
first Fauna of Scotland, gives Moss-cheeper and Titling 
as the names of the Meadow Pipit in that country. 
The nest of this bird is built on the ground, among 
