TAWNY PIPIT. 177 



crevices of rocks. It lays four to six eggs, wliicli are 

 dirty white, greyish, or greenish, covered with small 

 spots more or less abundant, greyish russet brown, or 

 russet green, and sometimes finely spotted with greenish 

 or brown red. It prefers to live in uncultivated and 

 stony or dry hilly places, covered with heath and thyme. 

 It runs quickly, and with grace, and very rarely perches 

 upon large trees. Its cry is very like that of the Short- 

 toed Lark. It lives principally on neuropterous insects." 



The male in breeding plumage has all the upper parts 

 of a light russet brown; wings and two upper tail 

 feathers darker; the edge of all the upper feathers more 

 or less bordered with light grey; six middle tail feathers 

 deep brown, the two lateral quills on each side white, 

 with a longitudinal patch of black brown on the inner 

 webs; a few dusky feathers form a small moustache 

 beneath the eyes and auditory orifices. All the lower 

 parts of the body bluish white, lighter at the lower 

 part of abdomen and under tail coverts; beak blackish 

 brown above, yellowish below; tarsi and feet yellow; 

 iris brown. 



The females are like the males in all seasons, but 

 the colour is lighter, and they are somewhat mottled 

 about the crop. 



The young before the first moult are, according to 

 Degland, of a browner plumage above, with the feathers 

 bordered with clear russet; crop and flanks marked 

 with a greater number of more elongated spots. 



My figure is a male in the breeding plumage, shot 

 by Mr. Tristram, at Kif Laid, April 22nd., 1857. The 

 egg from which my figure is taken was also kindly 

 sent me by the same gentleman, who remarks, "This 

 egg is very variable, though not so much so as that of 

 A. arhoreus. Some of my specimens approach those of 



