3 
will rest perched on the top of a large tabayba branch, or on a cactus or agave, and will remain 
quiet for some time without changing its position or moving from branch to branch. It rarely 
flies off when any one approaches, but merely squats like a Wheatear, and exhibits even less 
timidity in the presence of any one on horseback. 
““It has no real song; and all the note it utters is a soft and plaintive call, which, together 
with the monotonous song of the Chiff-chaff and the harsh call of the Kestrel, is one of the 
most familiar notes heard in the Canaries. 
“Its food is similar to that of its European congeners; but it appears less insectivorous than 
most of them are reputed to be, as judging from the contents of the stomachs of several I have 
examined, seeds, even large ones, form a portion of its diet. It appears to be very subject to a 
species of tubercular skin-disease, which chiefly attacks the feet and toes, and even the beak. I 
have observed many wild birds of this species suffering from this disease, and always found them 
very thin and in bad plumage. Mr. Kittlitz, who visited Teneriffe in 1826, was the first to 
remark the differences in this Pipit, and wrote as follows:—‘ They were the first birds we saw 
running along the road. I shot one, and found it to differ but little from the Water-Pipit, so 
common in the Riesengebirge—having the legs lighter in colour and the hind claw shorter, 
being, as it seemed to me, intermediate between that species and Anthus campestris. ‘This short 
description is, as regards coloration, very true; and in fact a form intermediate between Anthus 
aquaticus and A. campestris, putting hybridization out of the question, cannot but be a good 
species.” Dr. C. Bolle further states his belief that the Madeiran Pipit will prove to be the 
present species, in which, after an examination of specimens from that island, I fully concur 
with him. Mr. Vernon Harcourt (J. c.), speaking of it under the name of Anthus pratensis, says 
that it “is plentifully found in the fields near the sea and in the serras. It utters a low note, 
running along the ground, and never takes a long flight. ‘The natives consider the bird sacred, 
and have some legend about its having attended the Virgin at the time of the nativity.” 
Mr. F. DuCane Godman met with it in the Canaries and Madeira; and Captain Temple 
Godman also obtained several specimens in the latter locality. The former gentleman writes 
(Ibis, 1872, p. 177) as follows:—“I procured several examples of it in Teneriffe, where it is 
exceedingly common. [I also saw it in the islands of Palma and Gran Canary, though I failed 
to procure specimens from either. On the Desertas it is exceedingly common; and I shot several 
specimens on the smallest island; but unfortunately they were all washed overboard in returning, 
together with the rest of the things I collected there. A. bertheloti takes short flights like A. 
pratensis. It is usually very tame, and runs along the ground, not caring to take flight; whence 
it has received the name ‘Caminero’ in the Canaries, and ‘ Corre-de-Caminho’ in Madeira.” 
I have never seen the eggs of this Pipit, which doubtless resemble those of the Meadow- 
Pipit. 
The specimen figured is the one described, and is from Madeira. I have figured this bird 
as being closer to our Meadow-Pipit than examples from the Canaries. 
In the preparation of the above article I have examined the following specimens :— 
ook 
