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British Birds. 
The Tawny Pipit is easily distin- 
guished, when adult, by its uniform 
plain-coloured under-surface of huffy 
white, without any streaks on the 
breast. These streaks are present in 
young' birds, but are very indistinctly 
indicated. The outer tail-feather is 
almost entirely white, and has a 
white shaft, with a brown edging 
to the inner web ; the next feather 
has a brown shaft, and is blackish-brown, but the outer web is light buff and this 
pale colour extends obliquely across the inner web to the tip. The sides of the face 
are whitish, with a well-marked moustachial streak of dusky brown. The flanks are 
uniform, and the wing-coverts have broad margins of pale sandy colour. 
In its habits the Tawny Pipit is very Lark-like, soaring into the air for a little 
distance and singing. The nest is placed on the ground, concealed under a tuft of 
grass or a clod of earth, and is simply made of dry grass, lined with fine roots or 
horsehair. The eggs are from four to six in number, very pale, being white with 
numerous dots of black and grey. 
The Water-Pipit ( Anthus spipoletta). A rare visitor, some half-dozen speci- 
mens having been procured in England and Wales, on the spring and autumn 
migrations. Adult birds, with their uniform vinous-coloured breasts and also in their 
striped winter plumage, might be mistaken for Rock-Pipits, but they may always be 
distinguished by the white pattern on the outer tail-feathers, this light portion being 
always smoky brown in the Rock- Pipit. The Meadow- Pipit has the end of the last 
tail-feather but one white, whereas in the Tawny Pipit it is brown. The latter is 
moreover, a larger bird than Anthus pratensis. The streaks on the flanks will always 
distinguish the latter from the Tawny Pipit. 
The Water- Pipit, or, as Seebohm calls it, the Alpine Pipit, is an inhabitant of 
the mountains of Central and Southern Europe, extending to Central Asia and 
Baluchistan. It is found nesting beyond 
the limits of forest-growth, and resembles 
the Meadow-Pipit in habits, and soars 
into the air to utter its song. The nest 
is always on the ground, and is made of 
dry grass and moss, lined with rootlets, 
hair, or wool. The eggs are four or five 
in number, dull white, closely mottled or 
spotted with purplish-brown. 
The Rock-Pipit ( Anthus obscurus). 
This is also, like the Pied Wagtail, a 
The Water-Pipit. 
The Rock- Pipit. 
