Meadow pipit

“ Two species only are resident with us throughout the year—the well-known Meadow Pipit or Titlark (Anthus pratensis) , and the larger Rock Pipit (Anthus obscurus) . Both these, however, are to a certain extent migratory at the approach of winter, assembling in small flocks, and moving from place to place in search of food. The Tree Pipit (Anthus arboreus) visits us regularly in April, and remains in this country until September ”

“ The Tree Pipit is mentioned in Professor Ansted's list, but no letters marking the distribution of the species amongst the Islands are given. There is no specimen of this or either of the other Pipits in the Museum.
56. MEADOW PIPIT. Anthus pratensis, Linnaeus. French, "Le cujelier," "Pipit des prés," "Pipit Farlouse."—The Meadow Pipit is resident and breeds in all the Islands, but is by no means so numerous as the Tree Pipit is during the summer. I think, however, its numbers are slightly increased in the autumn, about the time of the departure of the Tree Pipits, by migrants. ”

“ By this time we may usually expect to see three or four other species, though the dates of arrival in this upland district are seldom very early; but neither Blackcap, Redstart, or Tree Pipit were to be seen. I saw a small flock of Meadow Pipits, a species which leaves us for the summer. Starlings are still in large packs, though many, of course, are breeding; Lapwings are only just beginning their nests. The hedges are as black as in the winter, and I do not see the flies about them which accompany the opening of the leaf. Under such circumstances one can hardly expect the summer birds ”

“ Howsoever the facts are to be accounted for, I do not disguise my personal conviction that the Cuckoo herself abstracted the surplus eggs of the Meadow Pipit, and that she had some excellent though recondite motive for so doing. To others I leave the responsibility of explaining away an apparently singular aberration on the part of a species which, according to some people, is "knowing" even to the extent of being able to diversify the colouring of its eggs to suit the exigencies of each recurring situation! ”

“ Meadow Pipit.—Of late years the Meadow Pipit seems to be on the decrease, though several still breed with us. I have seen a few nests myself this season, and allowed the same to remain undisturbed.
Yellow Wagtail.—The Yellow Wagtail is only second to the Skylark in breeding numbers. Annually, at the beginning of April, a large number of these handsome birds visit us, and I have seen some scores of them dotted about the fens. Their bright yellow plumage very much resembles the blossom of the dandelion, which at that time abounds in the locality. ”

“ His common diet of snails and beetles is varied by the eggs of the robin and meadow pipit, and occasionally he stumbles upon a huge store of food in the shape of a dozen or more eggs of pheasant or partridge. By depressing his spines he may even find his way between the bars of a hen-coop, but after eating a great part of the hen he may be too portly to get out, and then falls a victim to the enraged poultry-farmer. ”

“ Pipits at Whalsey Skerries, Pentland Skerries, and Isle of May (few records) . Earliest at Whalsey Skerries, Aug. 28th (following Sparrowhawk) , but all left next day; latest at Pentland Skerries, Oct. 25th (six struck at night) . Rush (on small scale) at Isle of May, Sept. 24th, 25th, and 26th. General Notes:—Mr. Agnew speaks of -7- some being always here, but additions on Sept. 24th. Possibly Mr. Agnew alludes, however, to Rock Pipits as the residents. The Meadow Pipit is probably the species first seen as additions on Sept. 24th. N.B. The Rock Pipit is a larger bird than the Meadow Pipit ”

“ Scarcer breeders are the missel-thrush, stonechat, ring-ouzel, golden-crested wren, sedge warbler, grey wagtail, yellow wagtail, hedge-sparrow, meadow pipit, pied flycatcher, swallow, sand-martin, chaffinch, lesser redpole, and reed bunting. Common winter visitants are the redwing, fieldfare, and snow bunting, while rarer or only occasional comers are the dipper, redstart, blackcap, chiffchaff, fire-crested wren, willow wren, great titmouse, blue titmouse, common creeper, grey-headed wagtail, tree pipit, great grey shrike, red-backed shrike. ”

“ Almost to a bird these Pipits leave the South Yorkshire moors during September and October. We used sometimes to meet with odd birds on the rough grounds below the moors during winter, but, speaking generally, the migrational movement is [47] pretty complete. Meadow Pipits always give us the impression of being somewhat sad little birds, taking life very seriously, as even human dwellers on these moorland solitudes are apt to do. We may illustrate this by a comparison of the cheery Wren with these Pipits, and then the reader will quite understand our meaning. ”

“ During the winter months I have Meadow Pipits under almost daily observation, and it is an absolutely common occurrence for me to frighten them from a low-lying meadow, when they will take to the branches of the tall trees around. They will freely settle on some of the thinner branches, as well as on the thick ones. ”

“ At Bell Rock four single records, 16th, 29th and 30th March, and 7th April, and at I. of May, on 28th March, "more Rock Pipits arrived." At I. of May about twenty Meadow Pipits arrived on - 23 - the 13th of February, and a considerable rush—or at least indication of a rush—began on the 1st April and increased on the 3rd, and a further increase observable on the 23rd ”

“ The nest of the pipit is made by hollowing out a little place in the ground and lining it with fine grasses. Though on the ground, it is one of the hardest to find, because it is lightly covered with the dry grasses, and when the bird is sitting, she matches the grasses so well that one can hardly see her, even when looking right at her.
The birds eat insects and weed seeds, and go about in flocks. Even then they are hard to see, because when they are startled they do not flutter or fly, but crouch or squat at once, and stay perfectly still. ”

“ During autumn and winter Rock Pipits may generally be met with in parties, sometimes even in small flocks, congregating on the rocky beaches, the cliffs, and downs, or, at low water, searching amongst the seaweed and shingle for food. They are by no means shy birds, but, if alarmed, rise in scattered order, and, after flitting aimlessly about, again pitch a little farther on, and resume their search. In spring the Rock Pipit separates into pairs, the low-lying shores are deserted, and the birds resort to their several breeding-places. ”

“ The swampy grounds in the interior of the country are peopled with legions of golden and king plovers, of snipes and red-shanks; the lakes abound with swans, ducks, and geese of various kinds; the snow-bunting enlivens the solitude of the rocky wilderness with his lively note, and, wherever grass grows, the common pipit (Anthus pratensis) builds its neat little nest, well lined with horsehair. Like the lark, he rises singing from the ground, and frequently surprises the traveller with his melodious warbling, which sounds doubly sweet in the lifeless waste. ”

“ In the sheltered valleys and deep water-courses a few stunted birches, and sometimes large patches of willow scrub, survive the long severe winter, and serve as cover for willow-grouse or ptarmigan. The Lapland bunting and red-throated pipit are everywhere to be seen, and certain favoured places are the breeding grounds of plovers and sandpipers of many species. So far from meriting the name of Barren Ground, the tundra is for the most part a veritable paradise in summer. But it has one almost fatal drawback—it swarms with millions of mosquitoes. ”

“ The great moth, looking more than half as big as the aggressor, beat the pipit with his strong wings in his efforts to free himself; but the other had clutched the soft, stout body in its claws, and standing over it with wings half open and head feathers raised, struck repeatedly at it with the greatest fury until it was killed. Then, in the same savage hawk-like manner, the dead thing was torn {117} up, the pipit swallowing pieces so much too large for it that it had the greatest trouble to get them down. The gentle, timid, little bird had for the moment put on the "rage of the vulture." ”

“ In the love season the male pipit occasionally takes his stand on a weed or low bush; but on moors, hills, and stony waste-lands he prefers a stone or mound of earth for a perch. From such an elevation he is able to keep watch on the movements of his mate, and, when the singing spirit takes him, to launch himself easily on the air. To sing he soars up to a height of forty feet or more, then glides gracefully down, with tail spread and wings half-closed and motionless, presenting the figure of a barbed arrow-head. ”

“ A line of docile cows, tethered side by side, ate their way into a strip of wine-coloured clover; meadow pipits mounted from the turf and filled the salt, sweet air with myriads of falling silver bells; in the distance the tall palisades of a wood rose against the sky and it looked like an island floating on the level sunlight of the plain. The glimmer of white houses among the grey boles revealed, as they approached, an embowered village on the cliff and Giles needed to make no mental reconstruction of beauty here. ”

“ Most of the nests are to be found at an elevation of twelve thousand to thirteen thousand feet, the lowest known being one on Mount Audubon, discovered on the third of July with fresh eggs. During the breeding season these birds never descend below timber-line. The young birds having left the nest, in August both old and young gather in flocks and range over the bald mountain peaks in quest of such dainties as are to the pipit taste. ”

“ Pipits are boreal breeders; but inasmuch as our own superb Alps claim kinship with the Arctic, there is no more favorable spot to study the nesting of the Pipits than upon the Cascades of northern Washington. At home the Pipit is a very different creature from the straggler of the long trail. On his native heather, surrounded by dwarfed fir trees, melting snow-fields, and splendid vistas of peak and cloud, he knows exactly what he wants and is quite capable of flying in a straight line. ”

“ Plain Titmice are fast disappearing and are growing quite uncommon. Further back in the hills is where civilization has driven them. Young were found in two nests April 8.
The American Pipit in winter appears to be as much at home in town as the urban English Sparrow. After a rain they can be found singly or in small bunches along the pavements in the densest part of town looking for worms. ”

“ Now, strange as all this may seem—that the pipit should live and breed just by or among the herring gulls, ready at all times to seize and devour any living creature that comes by chance in their way, and that it should go on ascending and descending, singing and singing, every day and all day long, just where the gulls are perpetually floating and flying hither and thither, always on the look-out for something to devour—it is but acting in accordance with its known character. ”

“ On July 31 a single individual was noted at the south end of Lake Peters and on August 3, a single family appeared. On August 10, the water pipits were the most common bird at the edge of the lake, five or six usually being seen in a half hour trip. One flock of 14 bathed in shallow pools along the edge of the lake. These birds in the last few days had been congregating in small and large groups. On August 13, on a trip along the west shore line from the south end to the north end of the lake, the only birds seen were water pipits and these were in great numbers. ”

“ During the migrations the pipits are abundant in salt marshes or open stretches of country inland, that, with lark-like preference, they choose for feeding grounds. When flushed, all the flock rise together with uncertain flight, hovering and wheeling about the place, calling down dee-dee, dee-dee above your head until you have passed on your way, then promptly returning to the spot from whence they were disturbed. ”

“ The little pipit (if it was always the same, and I never saw more than one at once) was not away for more than a minute or two, except on the third day, when it was pouring wet and food seemed harder to find. As soon as the cuckoo knew that its nurse was coming it began opening its mouth and quivering its wings, while the poor little dupe that brought the food would alight a short distance off and run along the wire to its side, then, looking ridiculously small for the job, it would manage to pop something into its mouth, not all in one go, but in two or three. ”

“ Under favoring circumstances, not well understood, they sometimes produce abnormally and become a menace to all growing crops. Plagues of meadow mice have often been mentioned in the history of the Old World, and even within the United States many instances are recorded of their extraordinary abundance with accompanying destruction of vegetation.
The runs of meadow mice are mainly on the surface of the ground under grass, leaves, weeds, brush, boards, snow, or other sheltering litter. They are hollowed out by the animals' claws, and worn hard and smooth by being frequently traversed. ”

“ She knew he was fond of young Mice, and didn't want him to come to see her babies while she was away. She said he was not a good friend for young children.
"We don't mind it at all," said the Mosquitoes from the lower part of the meadow. "We are unusually hungry today anyway, and we shall enjoy having the men come."
"Nothing to make such a fuss over," said a Milkweed Butterfly. "Just crawl into your holes or fly away."
"Sometimes they step on the holes and close them," said an Ant. ”