THE MEADOW PIPIT, OR TITLING . 
231 
and active in its movements, often jerking its long tail in a fashion that reminds the observer 
of the Wagtail’s habits. It moves with considerable celerity, tripping over the rough and 
rocky ground which is frequents, and picking up insects with the stroke of its unerring beak. 
Its food, however, is of a mixed description, as in the crops of several individuals were found 
seeds, insect and water-shells, some of the latter being entire. 
The song of this bird is hardly deserving of the name, being rather a feeble and plaintive 
“cheeping” than a true song. While uttering its notes, the Meadow Pipit is generally on 
the wing, but does not begin to sing until it has attained its full elevation, reserving its voice 
for the gradual descent. The song is begun quite early in the season, but as the bird is so 
partial to waste lands, it is not heard so commonly as that of rarer birds. It is gregarious in 
its habits, assembling in little flocks, which generally come to the cultivated grounds about 
September or October, and roost amicably together on the ground at night. 
The nest of this species is placed on the ground, and generally hidden in a large grass- tuft. 
It appears, from some observations made by Mr. Thompson, that the bird is in the habit of 
carrying dead grasses and laying them over her nest whenever she leaves her eggs or young. 
The object of this precaution is not, however, very evident, as the grass is usually of a different 
hue from the surrounding foliage, and apparently serves rather as a guide to the nest than a 
concealment. The eggs are from four to six in number, of a dark brown color, speckled freely 
with reddish-brown. The cuckoo is said to favor the Meadow Pipit with her society rather 
more frequently than is agreeable to the bird, and to give it the labor of rearing her voracious 
young. 
The general color of this Pipit is dark olive -brown, with a wash of green upon the upper 
parts ; the wings are very dark brown, sprinkled with white, and the tail is also brown, with 
the exception of a white streak on each exterior feather, and a few white spots towards the 
extremity. The under surface is brownish-white, and upon the breast of the male there is a 
pale rosy tinge. Upon the breast there are a number of dark brown spots. The colors of the 
plumage undergo a decided change in the autumn, and are more showy than those of the 
summer ; the olive-green on the back becoming more conspicuous and the under surface tinged 
with yellow. 
This bird goes by 
different names. In many 
places it is termed the 
Moss-cheeper, in allusion 
to its peculiar plaintive 
note. In other parts it 
is known by the title of 
Ling-bird, on account of 
its habit of haunting the 
waste moorlands. In Ire- 
land the bird is called the 
Wekeen, a name which 
evidently alludes to its 
note. It has been found 
all over Europe, and in 
many countries extend- 
ing as far northward as 
Sweden and Norway in 
the summer months, and 
having even been seen in 
Iceland. Specimens have 
been taken in Egypt and 
several parts of Africa, and also in the west of India. It has also been included in the list 
of J apanese birds, so that it possesses a range of locality which is seldom enjoyed by any 
single species. Although the bird is so small and delicate, being only six inches in length, it 

m, 
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TREE VWm.—Anthrn arboreus. 
