^92 British Birds, with their Nests and Eggs. 



Siberia, also through Turkestan to the Altai Mountains. South of the Pyrenees 

 and Northern Itah- the Tree- Pipit is met with on migration and in winter, as also 

 in Morocco and Algeria in N.W. Africa, eastward to Egypt, Nubia, and Abyssinia. 

 It has even been said to occur as far to the south as CaflFraria. 



In Great Britain this bird only occurs as a summer visitor, being pretty 

 generally distributed and common in England, with the exception of western 

 Cornwall and \\'ales, where it is scarce ; in Scotland it is rarer and far more local, 

 with the exception of the neighbourhood of Glasgow where it is abundant. It has 

 not been met with in Ireland, according to Howard Saunders ; but ^Ir. C. W. 

 Benson (in the "Zoologist" for 1878, p. 348) mentions the occurrence of a pair in 

 Dublin, and Mr. H. C. Hart states that he found a nest thirteen years previously 

 in the same county.* 



The upper surface of this species in breeding plumage is clear sandy brown, 

 vrith dark centres to the feathers, less prominent on the rump ; wings dark brown, 

 the coverts and secondaries with paler margins ; tail for the most part dark brown, 

 but the outermost feathers white, with a brown stripe on the inner w^eb, and the 

 next feather on each side broadly tipped vnth. white ; a buflF superciliary stripe ; 

 chin and belly whitish, remainder of under surface buflF; a dark streak from the 

 base of the bill to the sides of the neck, where there are other dark bro-mi streaks 

 and spots, as also at the sides of the breast and flanks : bill brown, the base of 

 lower mandible paler ; feet flesh-colour ; iris hazel. The female is slighth' smaller, 

 and has less defined breast-spots than the male. After the autumn moult the bufif 

 of the under surface is more pronounced. Birds of the year are more spotted on 

 the breast and flanks, but these markings are smaller than in adult birds. 



The shorter and more covered hind claw, larger size, somewhat longer tail, 

 warmer colouring, and paler legs, distinguish this bird from the ]Meadow-Pipit. 



This species usually makes its appearance in England earh' in April, though 

 sometimes not before the third week, and in the south of Scotland earh- in 'Mslj : 

 its favourite haunts are pastures on the outskirts of plantations, shrubberies inter- 

 spersed with large trees, or woods ; also large gardens, parks, tall hedgerows, but 

 more especially uneven hedges, with here and there a tall tree : here one can best 

 observe its curious caricature of the Skylark's upward flight, rising perpendicularlv 

 for a short distance and thence, with expanded -nings and tail, dropping spirally, 

 singing the while. 



In his "Evolution of Bird-song," p. 118, ^Ir. Charles A. Witchell thus renders 

 the song of the Tree- Pipit : — " C/itr chee c/icc clue ctcliazv ecchaw ii'Iuc ivlicc zvhee n'/icc 

 ivhee li'hec : or cec/iaii' ecchaiv chee chee chee chee Judge judge fudge Judge ivhee zchee ichee 

 * cf. Seebohm's British Birds, Vol. II., p. 219. 



