36 
British Birds. 
THE 
MEADOW-PIPIT. 
(Anthus pratensis.) 
from purplish or pinkish-red to olive-grey, with sometimes tiny dots and some- 
times bolder spots and blotches of reddish brown and purplish-grey. 
The present species is rather a smaller bird than the Tree-Pipit, 
is not so bright in colour, and may always be told by its straight 
hind-claw, which exceeds the length of the hind toe itself. It is 
found everywhere throughout Great Britain, and is resident with 
us, though a considerable number migrate. There is some difference in size observable 
among our British Meadow- Pipits, and the ones from the south coast seem to constitute 
a smaller race than those from more upland localities. It must also be noted that in 
Pipits, as in Larks, the females are always smaller than the males. The range of the 
Meadow-Pipit extends over the greater part of Europe and reaches east as far as the 
Valley of the Ob. Its winter home is in the Mediterranean countries and Northern Africa. 
It is generally a ground-loving bird, but in the mountains of Norway, at 3,500 feet, 
where it is exceedingly common, I have found it more like a Tree-Pipit in habits, 
perching on the birch trees, and soaring high into the air like a Sky-Lark, 
singing the while very sweetly. I shot one or two birds after they had perched on 
the trees to make sure that they were not Tree-Pipits. Its food consists almost 
entirely of insects, which it seeks on the ground. The nest is always built on the 
latter, and is generally sheltered ; it is a neat little cup of grass with a little moss 
and lined with fine grass or hair. The eggs are from four to six in number, and are 
somewhat browner and more uniform in appearance than those of the Tree- Pipit, 
being brown, more or less clouded with minute spots and markings of brown and 
purplish -grey. 
The Red-throated Pipit ( Anthus cerviuus). This is a kind of Meadow-Pipit, 
very similar to Anthus pratensis, and only distinguishable in the winter plumage by the 
streaks on the rump, this part of the back beinguniform in the Meadow- Pipit. Three un- 
doubted specimens of the Red- 
throated Pipit have been taken 
within the British Islands, so that 
the species may be considered 
to be an occasional visitant, 
but it may occur more often than 
is suspected, as its plumage in 
winter is so very similar to that 
of Anthus pratensis. In the 
summer dress, of course, the 
uniform vinous red throat and 
breast easily distinguish the 
species. In the female the red 
colour is confined to the throat, 
and does not extend to the chest. 
Red-throated Pipit. 
Richard’s Pipit. 
