species is wavering and desultory, and its cry is a repeated shrill ‘ cheep.’ When disturbed while feeding, it
ee about, eacently repeating its note, settles on a rock ot strome, a = — ee a vibrating
its body, and waits until the intruder departs. But althongh shy, it is on ie a is Ha I one 2
Gencider itself safe at no great distance ; and, indeed, i may Boome) do 80 with ae y, for it is very
seldom molested, neither its colours nor the quality of It flesh being sufficiently alinechine to the sportsman
to induce him to hold it in request. It is scarcely gregarious at any season, but in winter may be said to be
at least not unsocial. AoE

«About the middle of spring it pairs, and towards the end of April or the beginning of May forms 2 nest
similar to that of the Meadow Pipit, being rather bulky, and composed of stems and blades of grass, with a
lining of finer materials of the same kind and some hair. a is placed in a grassy bank, or among moss in
some rocky place, generally overhanging the sea or not far inland. Sea-weeds and moss sometimes, but not
generally, form part of the nest. a .
«The song is composed of a shrill whistle, not very agreeable, and is performed while the bird is hovering
in the air. It is of the same general character as that of the Meadow Pipit, but is louder, not so protracted,
and less pleasing. When its nest is approached, it hovers round, incessantly uttering its shrill querulous
notes, and betraying its anxiety by its restlessness. I have never met with it at the distance of half a mile
from the sea-shore ; it appears, therefore, to be strictly maritime.”

A nest taken at Alum Bay in the Isle of Wight, in May 1855, was thick and substantial, composed
entirely of interwoven stems of dry grasses, and very tastefully decorated on the outside with many
delicate sea-weeds. The four eggs contained therein were of a greenish stone-colour, almost entirely.
hidden, especially at the larger end, with confluent blotches of ashy brown.

Through the kindness of many friends, particularly Mr. Gatcombe, of Plymouth, Mr. Bond, Mr. Murray
A. Mathews, and Mr. Harting, I have been enabled to compare skins of the Rock Pipit from nearly every part
of England, Scotland, and the Hebrides, and I find them very consistent in their colouring. While
the nestlings are perfecting their first primaries their colour closely assimilates to that of the adults
after their autumnal moult, when the plumage is suffused with deep olive on the upper, and
dull yellow on the ander surface; the feathers are much lengthened, and the entire coating of the bird

thick, smooth, and silky to the touch. As spring approaches, the tips of the olive-coloured feathers being
worn off, the bird becomes of a browner hue, but still ret

the bill becomes olive-black ; the legs and feet nearly bl
pervaded those parts in winter.

ains the spots on the breast and upper surface ;
ack in lieu of the paler tint of the colours which

The adults of both sexes have all the upper surface olive, with
coverts tipped with pale greyish olive; under surface pale yellowish buff, thickly streaked on the sides of

the throat, breast, and flanks with brown ; tail dark brown with an oblique mark of whitish brown across the
apical portion of the outer feather on each side.

The figures are of the natural size.

a darker centre to each feather; wing-