6 
occurring at Mozambique, though it is doubtful if the bird obtained by Captain Sperling is really 
referable to A. campestris ; for, as inferred by Messrs. Finsch and Hartlaub (Vog. Ost-Afr. p. 275), 
it is possible that Anthus raaltent may have been mistaken by him for the present species. 
To the eastward the Tawny Pipit is met with as far as China. De Filippi records it as 
occurring near Tiflis and the valley of the Lar; and Mr. Blanford has lent me specimens obtained 
by him in Persia and Baluchistan. Mr. A. O. Hume (Stray Feathers, p. 202) says that he found 
it “far less common in Sindh than it is throughout the North-west Provinces and the Punjaub. 
In the bare portions of the country, which in Upper Sindh extend from fifteen to forty miles 
from the foot of the hills, and throughout the bare hilly region south of the Sehwan Hills on 
the right bank of the Indus, I altogether missed it; but in the more cultivated lands about 
Shikarpore, Larkhana, and Mehur, and to the east of the Indus, in Roree, Hyderabad, and Tatta, 
we met with it, though not in great numbers, and I procured a single specimen close to Kur- 
rachee.” Dr. Jerdon (B. of Ind. ii. p. 235), giving its range, says:—‘‘in suitable places through- 
out India. I have found it most abundant in the Deccan, at Mhow, in Central India, and on 
the Eastern Ghauts ; it is rare in the Carnatic; Blyth has it from Midnapore and the North-west 
Provinces.” Dr. Gustav Radde speaks of it as occurring on the Amoor; but he appears doubtful 
if the bird he includes under the name of A. campestris (Reis. im Siid. v. Ost-Sib. ii. p. 220) is 
really this species or A. richardi. After carefully reading all he says on the subject I feel 
convinced that he did not get A. campestris; but at the same time his measurements do not 
altogether agree with those of A. richardi; and without a critical examination of the specimens 
obtained by him it is impossible to decide to what species they should be referred. His mea- 
surements of eleven specimens, reduced to our English scale, average, tarsus 1:1 inch, hind toe 
with claw 1:07, hind claw 0:65; whereas the Asiatic specimens of A. campestris average, tarsus 
1:03 inch, hind toe with claw 0:61, hind claw 0:3—and of A. richardi, tarsus 1:21 inch, hind toe 
with claw 1°12, hind claw 0°75. I may add that some of the specimens of Anthus richardi I 
have examined, obtained in Eastern Asia, have the hind toe and claw rather shorter than average 
European examples, and I think it therefore probable that Dr. Radde’s birds were A. richardi. 
Pere David states that the present species occurs at Pekin on passage only, and is abundant in 
_ Mongolia; but Mr. Swinhoe does not include it in his list of the birds of China. 
The Tawny Pipit usually frequents the open, sandy, and sterile plains; but this is not always 
the case, as Mr. E. F. von Homeyer expressly remarks on his having repeatedly met with it in 
Hinter-Pommern (Pomerania) inhabiting fertile ground. In some localities it has been known 
also to frequent the higher plains and hills; but asa rule this is not the case. Mr. Seebohm 
informs me that in Greece it appears to confine itself strictly to the valleys and plains. It isa 
shy uneasy bird, continually on the move, and runs with great celerity, when on the ground 
resembling a Lark; for, like that bird, it will run for some distance and then stop short, and 
remain still for a few moments. It carries itself very erect, and when halting has a habit of 
moving its tail, though very slightly, after the manner of the Wagtails. Though essentially a 
ground-bird, like our common Lark it is said occasionally to perch on a low bush or a fence; but 
a clod or a stone is usually chosen for its resting-place. Its flight is swift and strong, bow- 
shaped, and somewhat resembles that of the Wagtail. Its call-note, Mr. Seebohm informs me, 
which is constantly uttered, is monotonous, and something resembles the syllables zer-vee. Its 
