INTRODUCTION. 
Ixxvii 
of this bird in oiir islands — one at Unst in Shetland on the 4th of May 1854 (now in the collection of 
Mr. Bond), and another in September of the same year at Freshwater in the Isle of Wight. 
142. Anthus pratensis ........... Vol. III. PI. XIII. 
Meadow-Pipit or Titlark. 
A truely resident species, breeding in all the moorland counties of the three kingdoms, often the foster- 
parent of the young Cuckoo in this and the other European countries in which it is found. A large race of 
Meadow-Pipits arrive on our south coast in spring, and, it is believed, spread themselves over the central 
and perhaps the northern portions of tlie country. 
143. Anthus arboreus Vol. III. PI. XIV. 
Tree-Pipit. 
A summer migrant to England and Scotland, but “ not,” says Thompson, “ satisfactorily known as an 
Irish species arrives in spring, and departs in September. 
Family ALAUDIDAE. 
The Larks constitute a very large family of birds, and are perhaps less understood than any other group 
in the whole range of ornithology. Those species which frequent Britain are arranged in the genera Alamla^ 
Galerita^ Otocons, Melanocorypha, and Calandrella. They are chiefly inhabitants of the Old World. Of 
the genus Alauda, under which term all that were known when Linnseus wrote were included, our well-known 
Sky-Lark is a typical example. In America these birds are but feebly represented. 
Genus Alauda. 
144. Alauda arvensis Vol. III. PI. XV. 
Sky-Lark. 
A strictly resident species in Britain, the numbers of which are greatly increased by arrivals from 
Scandinavia in autumn, the whole forming immense flocks in the winter season. This species is also widely 
dispersed over Central and Southern Europe ; and its range may even extend further in those directions. 
In the preceding portion of this Introduction I have mentioned the great destruction of small birds which 
occasionally takes place from the severity of the weather, in further confirmation of which I may here give 
a passage from a note received by me from John St. Aubyn, Esq., of Pendeen, in Cornwall, dated January 
15, 1867 : — “ Owing to the severity of the cold, Larks and other small birds are beginning to die rapidly of 
starvation, judging from the number my children pick up.” 
