81 
The Pipit 
Family: Momtaeillidae 
Of this family Britain has seven representatives;—four per¬ 
manently resident, the pied wagtail, the grey wagtail, the 
meadow-pipit, and the rock-pipit; and three summer visitors, 
the white wagtail, the yellow wagtail, and the tree-pipit. New 
Zealand has two representatives;—the ground-lark, and the 
Antipodes-lark. 
The wagtails appear to have little song, but it is more highly 
developed among the pipits, especially in the meadow-pipit, 
or tit-lark, and the tree-pipit. None of these has been acclima¬ 
tized in New Zealand. 
The New Zealand representatives of this family are:— 
Anthus novae-zealandiae the pipit or ground-lark pihoihoi 
Anthus steindachneri the Antipodes-lark 
The pipit or ground-lark. —Above brown, below dull white, 
with brown spots on the breast. Cheeks white with brown 
spots; a dark brown band through the eye. Outer tail-feathers 
white except near the base: the shaft white. Second feather 
white with an oblique mark of brown on the inner web; the 
shaft brown. ITind claw equal to the hind toe. Second, third, 
and fourth primaries sinuated on the outer margin. Eye dark 
brown. Bill and feet yellowish-brown. Total length 8 in., of 
which the tail is 3 in. 
Eggs. —Four; ground-colour varies from pale stone-grey to 
a warm creamy grey, and the markings, a darker shade of the 
ground-colour, pass through every gradation, from a covering 
of uniform speckles and freckles of greyish-brown to a much 
darker character, blotched and mottled with purplish-brown 
of different shades. Length nearly 1 in., breadth a little over 
three-fifths of an inch. 
Nest .—On the ground in some natural depression under the 
shelter of a tussock or clump of rushes; composed of dry grass 
and other fibrous substances loosely put together. 
