THE MEADOW-PIPIT 



Anthus pratensis (Linnaeus). 

 Plate 12. 



The Meadow-Pipit or Titlark is resident and well known all over the British 

 Islands, being also widely distributed throughout the greater part of Europe and 

 in many portions of Asia. Some winter in North Africa. It is a common bird on 

 our pastures, wastes, and moorland country ; in winter leaving the high ground 

 and bleak hillsides for lower and more sheltered localities. Some pass out of this 

 country in autumn, returning in spring. 



The nest, usually placed in some hollow on a bank, or on flat ground, and con- 

 cealed among grass and heather, is made of grasses, and lined with finer material 

 of the same kind and hair. The five or six eggs vary a good deal in colour, 

 but usually have a brownish- or greyish-white ground, dotted with purplish-grey or 

 reddish-brown. 



Though often seen on a wall or rock, the Meadow-Pipit seldom perches on trees, 

 and seeks its food of insects, small worms, and snails, and also seeds on the ground. 



It sings while descending after an upward flight, in the manner of the Tree-Pipit, 

 although it sometimes utters a few cheeping notes during the ascent. The song 

 is distinctly inferior to that of the Tree-Pipit, and may occasionally be heard while 

 the bird is perched on a stone. Its ordinary call is a shrill and rather melancholy 

 squeaking note, frequently uttered. 



The Meadow-Pipit is slightly smaller than the other, and may be distinguished 

 from it by its much longer and straighter hind claw. 



The sexes are alike in colour. 



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