472 Birds of Colorado 
it is often placed in and woven round three or more 
upright twigs, and is made up of stems, rootlets and 
plant strippings, worked in with a soft cotton-like sub- 
stance, and lined inside with hairs, fine stems and some- 
times a few feathers. The eggs, usually four, are white 
or creamy, speckled and blotched with several shades 
of brown and lilac of varying extent and distribution, 
They average ‘63 x ‘48. 
Family MOTACILLIDA. 
Bill shorter than the head, slender, straight and acute, 
notched at the tip ; nostrils not concealed ; gape without 
conspicuous bristles ; primaries nine ; the ninth (outer) 
and eighth about equal, the seventh to sixth the longest ; 
inner secondaries greatly lengthened, almost as long as 
the primaries ; feet slender, tarsus scutellate ; hind toe 
with a long and almost straight claw. 
Genus ANTHUS. 
Characters as given above under the family. 
Two species only are found in the United States. 
American Pipit. Anthus rubescens. 
A.O.U. Checklist no 697—Colorado Records—(Anthus ludovicianus 
and A. pensilvanicus)—Allen 72, p. 161; Aiken 72, p. 196; Trippe 
74, p. 231 ; Scott 79, p. 92 ; Minot 80, p. 226 ; Drew 81, p. 88 ; 85, p. 15; 
Allen’ & Brewster 83, p. 155 ; McGregor 97, p. 39; Cooke 97, pp. 18, 
118 ; Keyser 02, pp. 50, 239 ; Henderson 03, p. 237 ; 09, p. 240 ; Gilman 
07, p. 194; Warren 08, p. 24; Rockwell 08, p. 177. 
Description.—Adult in spring—Above greyish-olive with obscure 
dusky centres to some of the feathers, especially of the middle of the 
back ; wings and tail with paler edgings to the feathers, but no very 
distinct wing-bands ; two outer pairs of tail-feathers with white on the 
outer web ; stripe above the eye and under-parts pale bufiy-white ; 
the chest and flanks usually, though by no means invariably, streaked 
with black ; iris brown, bill dusky, paler on the lower mandible ; legs 
brownish-black. Length of a female 5-20; wing 3-20; tail 2:25; 
culmen -43 ; tarsus -80. 
