98 MOIACILLID-a?. 



Anthus piatensis {Linn.). 



Anthus pratensis, Thien. Fortpjlanz. ges. Vog. tab. xxv. fig. 8, a-e (1845- 

 64) ; Baedeker, Eier Eur. Vog. tab. 35. flg. 5 (1855-63) ; Hewitson, 

 Eggs of Brit. Birds, i. p. 173, pi. xliv. figs, i & ii (1856) ; Dresser, 

 Birds Em: in. p. 285 (1874) ; Seebohm S[ Harvie-Brown, Ibis, 1876, 

 p. 121 ; Seebohm, Brit. Birds, ii. p. 224, pi. 14 (1884) ; Sharps, Cat. 

 Birds B. M. x. p. 580 (1885) ; Seebohm,. Eggs of Brit. Birds, p. 264, 

 pi. 58 a. figs. 9 & 10 (1896) ; Dresser, Man. Pal. Birds, pt. i. p. 210 

 (1902) ; Radeliffe Saunders, Bull. B. O. C. xiv. no. ciii. p. 42 (1904) ; 

 Hartert, Vog. Pal. Faun. pt. iii. p. 275 (1905) ; Sharpe, Hand-l. v. 

 p. 148 (1906). 



The eggs of the Meadow-Pipit are, for the most part, of a pointed 

 oval shape and moderately glossy. The ground-colour varies from 

 greyish- or brownish-white to pale stone-colour and sometimes it is 

 pale blue. The markings on the majority of the eggs are of various 

 shades of brown and underlying lavender or purplish-grey. On 

 some specimens they are very dense and form a confluent mass, 

 concealing nearly the whole of the ground-colour ; and on others 

 they are comparatively sparse and separate, permitting quite half of 

 the ground-colour to be seen. Some examples are almost uniformly 

 of a stone-colour, marked with a few spots and fine hair-lines of 

 dark brown or black ; others are very faintly mottled all over with 

 minute streaks and dots. A clutch of five eggs taken at Seasalter, 

 Faversham, are very abnormal in coloration. They are almost 

 uniform pale blue, with a few spots, blotches, or hair-streaks of 

 yellowish-brown, purple-brown, and lilac-grey, mostly confined to 



