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YERTEBRATA. 
These birds are common in Europe, several species being known in Great Britain. Tbe ge- 
nus MOTACILLA includes the Pied Wagtail, M. Yarrellii, yflnoh is seven inches long ; upper 
parts, sides, and flanks, black, variously marked with white ; breast, bell)", and under tail-coverts, 
white. It is a very sprightly bird, ever in motion, running about or moving from place to place 
by short, undulating flights, uttering a cheerful note, and alighting again on the ground with a 
sylph-like buoyancy, and a graceful, fanning motion of the tail. This species remains in South- 
ern Europe throughout the year. 
Other species are the White Wagtail, M. alba, a summer visitor to Britain ; the Gray Wag- 
tail, M. hoarula, chiefly confined to Southern Europe ; the Grat-headed Wagtail — called Ber- 
geronnette in France — M. fiava, common in Central and Northern Europe, but rare in Great Britain ; 
the Yellow Wagtail or Ray's Wagtail, M. Rayi, avoiding wet lands, and seeking arable fields ; 
a rare species throughout the continent ; the White-winged Wagtail, M. luguhris, is found in 
Eastern Europe ; the King-King, M. speciosa, is but four and a half inches long, and belongs to 
Java. There are still other species in Asia and Africa, and it may be remarked that those we 
have noticed as found in Europe are also, for the most part, found in these other divisions of the 
eastern continent. 
THE MEADOW PIPIT. 
THE PIPITS OR TITLARKS. 
These birds resemble the wagtails, and also make a close approach to the larks. They feed on 
seeds and insects. Of the genus ANTHUS there are several species. The Meadow Pipit or 
Titlark, A. pratensis — Farlouse des pres of the 'French — is six inches long; grayish-red above, 
and yellowish-red below. It frequents stony and arid slopes, lives on insects, worms and slugs, 
makes its nest in the sand against a rock or stone, and lays four to six eggs. The female has the 
habit of many other birds, that of pretending to be wounded, so as to draw off attention from 
her eggs or her young, when a stranger approaches them. It is a summer visiter throughout the 
temperate parts of Europe. 
Other species are the Tree-Pipit, A. arboreus, found as a summer visitor in wooded and culti- 
vated districts from Italy to Denmark ; the Rock-Pipit, A. p>etrosus — the Field-Lark, A, campes- 
tris of 'Be^\ek,Fipi-Rousselin of the French — inhabiting flat shores along the sea; is found in the 
maritime parts of Southern Europe : Richard's Pipit, A. Ricardi, frequents old pastures ; found 
in Europe along the Mediterranean, and rarely in France and England; and^. Spinoletta — A. 
aquaticus of Bechstein — common throughout Europe. These are all migratory. 
The American Pipit or Titlark, A. Ludovicianus — the Brown or Red Lark of Nuttall — is 
six and a half inches long ; upper parts grayish-brown ; beneath dusky white ; breast spotted 
with black ; eggs four to five ; builds in mountainous districts ; winters in Louisiana, and migrates 
northward as far as latitude 63° in summer. It breeds in Labrador and the fur countries. 
