ANTBUS PRATENSIS.
'ompestTvi, Lath. Im!- f
MtTÄ pratensis, Kayj-
T hk Titlark is
dispersion* the
parent o f the < •«*•«»■*> As '•* ®m™ w
more pBroewfei® '«
the watery <?v «** nahmd vaUey* ■■&«**•
mountain», freai ra r .Ffca*. w w i r
in our sunny meads, and the toonot ww© « fan? who, w w > . . . ~ .
11 fl h this little fi am water *he*r ieei. awd wfeeoevw I-;. . • ©ci.ur* it merely Hits off to the distance
T a few yards, utters its short and p ttfc t» again « to the e r.,,.. ViTtei, my thoughts are directed
0 the Cuckoo aud its mysterious wav., 1 feel that I km * ¡idle more respecting it than th at it is a parasite,
.ml depends upon other birds for the rearing o f it» progeny. But how strange is it that it should select so
mil a creature as the- M eadow-Pipit in preference to mo« other birds for tins purpose. What a task it
, * * he for this little insect-eater to supply the demands aud rear the yrnmg of so large a bird as the
»-koo, which is twenty times its own weight, and with a month uHBcientfy large to engulf the head and
;-..K ¡4 buii which brings it fo o d ! yet so it is.
J-t .« stmettnce this delicately formed species is allied to the Yellow Wagtails (genu» Rudytcv). i e
, -w : ,wer rhc grass and among the clods o f e a rth ; like them, also, it makes a Miudar move
, . tj.; . o..? r>11 ^ »other hand, in the colouring and the character o f its plumage, it offers an Alliance
. ^ ^ ne!rting and in the colouring o f its eggs it may be said to be mcermwbate
To say th at the Titlark has no song would be untrue, a t the same time it is only an apology wfcn
. * Td with th at o f the Skylark, l u mode of rising and singing in the air in the exuberance of os feelings
' the pairing and breeding-sensor, is also a very feeble representation o f the actions of that bird.
1 et g o f the male,” says Macgiliivray, “ is composed of a series o f sharp modulated notes, which it utt
, ;A first ascending silently, o r emitting its usual cheep, to the height o f about twenty yards, and thin
tending with expanded wings and tail. Sometimes also it sings when perched on a stone o r ere*. Its
• aos may be heard from the middle o f April to the end o f .Inly.”
th e Titlark is a constant resident with us -, and although 1 have spoken o f its frequenting the summits ot
, , highest mountains, it is only in open wenther th at it is found in such situations ; for, uohke the War-
» « » which burrows in the snow when those elevated regions are covered with the white fleece, the i a
L t d « « descend to the running springs and rills of th e mountain-side, or change its residence to the
1 u lawts or even to the sea-shore; and if the weather be unusually severe, to a more distant part, where,
! , , . .„ n . |)eing higher, i t can still find food. I t soon returns, however, to the drear heathery laud i
, . , . m tj,e ,H>mp{iny o f the Grouse and the Plover, it is more a t home.
f V *>sw a re so much alike that it is impossible to say offhand which is a male and which is a female
. Wrds th at may have been shot. Fresh-moulted specimens are brighter, and have a yell«»»
| . . . .,.ce„ than those whose feathers hove been carried for a long tim e ; still there is htt c d.fferenee
• ti« * «M r among specimens procured a t any season. The long, straight, and finely-lormei
, j . th at the ground is the Titlark’s natural province; aud accordingly it is seldom ■■ ■■ ■ »» pere
e i j4 ||t on the top o f a stone o r the wall o f a dyke.
m distribution o f the Titlark over other countries is considerable. It is a common
|. ,o have occurred in Greenland. Its range extends to the extreme limit of north-,
Ml M . »11«'v states that it is as common in some parts o f Lapland as in England. t.
« i t i ird as far as Algeria, it is as frequently to be met with as in the BfW
d ¡ ' J " occurs in Eastern Asia; but I question whether it is ever found in India ,
hay» „.„ led Mr. Yarrell when I stated that 1 had seen specimens from thence. I mmmm