The Bird Book/Wagtails

THE BIRD BOOK

WAGTAILS. Family MOTACILLID^

[694.] WHITE WAGTAIL. Motacilla alba.

Prague's Pipit

Range. An Old World species; accidental in Greenland.

These birds are abundant ^ -?

throughout Europe, nesting ^0 on the ground, in stone walls, ;; or in the crevices of old buildings, etc., the nests being made of grass, rootlets, leaves, etc.; the eggs are White grayish white, finely specked with blackish gray. Size .75 x .55.

[695.] SWINHOE'S WAGTAIL. ocularis.

Motacilla

Range. Eastern Asia; accidental in Lower California and probably Alaska.

ALASKA YELLOW WAGTAIL. Budyt< flavus alascensis.

the

Range. Eastern Asia; abundant on the Bering Sea coast of Alaska in summer.

These handsome Wagtails are common in summer on the coasts and islands of Bering Sea, nesting on the ground under tufts of grass or beside stones, usually in marshy ground. Their eggs number from 'four to six and are white, profusely spotted with various shades of brown and gray. Size .75 x .55. Data. Kamchatka, June 20, 1896. Nest on the ground; made of fine rootWhite lets, grass and moss, lined neatly with animal fur.

697. PIPIT. Anthus rubescens.

Range. North America, breeding in the Arctic regions, and in the Rocky Mountains south to Colorado, winters in southern United States and southward.

The Titlarks are abundant birds in the United States during migrations, being found in flocks in fields and cultivated ground. Their nests, which are placed on the ground in meadows or marshes under tufts of grass, are made of moss and grasses; the four to six eggs are dark grayish, heavily spotted and blotched with brown and blackish. Size .75 x .55. Gray

[698.] MEADOW PIPIT. Anthus pratensis.

Range. Whole of Europe; accidental in Greenland.

This species is similar to the American Pipit and like that species nests on the ground; they are very abundant and are found in meadows, woods or thickets in the vicinity of houses. Their nests are made chiefly of grasses, lined with hair; the eggs are from four to six in number and are grayish, very heavily spotted and blotched with grayish brown. Size .78 x .58.

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[699-] RED-THROATED PIPIT. Anthus

PERCHING BIRDS

'

cermnus.

Range. An Old World species; accidental in the Aleutians and Lower California.

The nesting habits of this bird are like those of the others of the genus.

700. SPRAGUE'S PIPIT. Anthus spraguei.

Range. Interior of North America, breeding from Wyoming north to Saskatchewan. Winters in the plains of Mexico.

These birds are common on the prairies and breed abundantly on the plains of the interior of northern United States and Manitoba. They have a flight song which is

Grayish white said to be fully equal to that of the famous European Skylark. They nest on the ground under tufts of grass or up-turned sods, lining the hollow with fine grasses; their three or four eggs are grayish white, finely specked with grayish black or purplish. Size .85 x .60. Data. Crescent Lake, Canada. Nest of fine dried [Trasses, built in the ground at the side of a sod.

Sage Thrasher