240 BRITISH BIRDS, 



breeds throughout Turkestan and South Siberia, as far east ias Krasnoyarsk, 

 and winters in South Persia and India. It seems probable that examples of 

 the eastern Palsearctic race occasionally wander into Europe, as I have a 

 specimen from Heligoland of which the wing measures only 3"3 inch. 

 The reputed occurrences of this species in Eastern Siberia, Mongolia, and 

 China appear to refer to A. striolatus, which may easily be distinguished 

 by the pure white instead of sandy brown on the outer tail-feathers. 



There are two tropical forms of the Tawny Pipit, one of them {A. pyr- 

 rhonotus) being a resident in South Africa, and the other [A. jerdoni) in 

 India. Both these species are slightly larger than the Tawny Pipit, and 

 in both of them the striations on the upper parts are almost obsolete, 

 except on the head. In both species the fourth primary is nearly as long 

 as the first, second, and third ; and the fifth primary is emarginated on the 

 outer web ; whilst in the Tawny Pipit the fourth primary is relatively some- 

 what shorter, and only the second, third, and fourth are emarginated. 

 These tropical forms have been considered identical by Blyth and 

 Blanford ; but they may be distinguished from each other by the prevailing 

 colour of the upper parts, which in the Indian bird varies from neutral 

 brown to isabelline brown, whilst the South-African bird is at all seasons 

 of the year much more fulvous, and may be further distinguished by the 

 dark centres to the longest under tail- coverts and by its shorter innermost 

 secondaries. 



The Tawny Pipit is almost a desert-bird, and is rarely seen except 

 on dry sandy heaths and plains. England appears to have too damp a 

 climate to suit its constitution, and is also situated almost at the extreme 

 limit of its breeding-range. Even on the sandy plains of South Holland, 

 where the soil is so poor that in the most fertile districts the farmers 

 are seldom able to live entirely on the land, and possess a few tan-pits 

 as an additional source of income, the Tawny Pipit is a somewhat rare 

 bird, though it is common enough on the " dunes " or sand-hills on the 

 southern shores of the Baltic as far north as Riga. It must be looked 

 upon as a southern bird which never winters north of the Mediterranean, 

 and only migrates in spring as far north as our latitude to exceptionally 

 favourable localities, where something approaching a desert may be found. 



I found it very common in (Jreece, and it is the only species of this 

 genus that breeds there. The Meadow-Pipit, and probably also the Red- 

 throated and Water-Pipits, spend their winters in that country ; the Tree- 

 Pipit passes through in spring and autumn on migration ; but the Tawny 

 Pipit makes Greece its summer home. This bird frequents the valleys in 

 Greece and Asia Minor, and is rarely seen in either country much more 

 than a thousand feet above the level of the sea. It seems to prefer the 

 open plains, and is very common in the almost treeless valley between the 

 Parnassus and Thermopyle; but in the valleys south of the Parnassus 



