_J. Gould and H. C. Richter del et lith._ _Hullmandel & Walton Imp._
]
ANTHUS AUSTRALIS, _Vig. & Horsf._
Australian Pipit.
_Anthus Australis_, Vig. & Horsf. in Linn. Trans., vol. xv. p. 229.
——— _pallescens_, Vig. & Horsf. in Linn. Trans., vol. xv. p. 229.
_Waȑ-ra-joo-lon_, Aborigines of the lowlands of Western Australia.
_Common Lark_ of the Colonists.
The Pipits, like many other of the Australian birds, are exceedingly
perplexing, inasmuch as the specimens from the various colonies differ
from each other considerably in size and in the length and form of the
hind-claws. A more minute examination and a longer observation of them
in a state of nature than my stay in the country afforded, may prove
them to comprise several species, though for the present I can only
regard them as mere local varieties; whatever the case may be, one thing
is certain,—namely that the northern and southern regions of the country
are inhabited by Pipits which bear a great resemblance to each other.
Every variety of country, from the humid flats and sides of lagoons
teeming with luxuriant vegetation to the hot sterile plains, are equally
frequented by them; I could not fail to remark, however, that the
short-toed and smaller-sized birds were most abundant on the plains. The
_Anthus Australis_ has all the habits and actions of its European
prototype the _Anthus aquaticus_, but is still more bold and showy; its
note is also very similar; it seldom flies higher than the tops of the
trees, but occasionally mounts perpendicularly in the air, singing all
the time; when flushed from the ground it rarely flies to any great
distance before it descends again rather abruptly, to the earth, to the
branch of a tree, or a small bush.
The nest is a rather deep and compactly formed structure of dried
grasses; it is placed in a hole in the ground, sometimes beneath the
shelter of a tuft of grass, but more frequently in a clear, open and
exposed situation, the top of the nest being level with the surface. The
eggs, which are three and sometimes four in number, are of a lengthened
form, being eleven lines long by seven and a half lines broad, and are
of a greyish white, blotched and freckled with light chestnut-brown and
purplish grey, the latter colour appearing as if beneath the surface of
the shell.
The breeding-season commences in the early part of September and
continues until January, during which season two or three broods are
reared.
The stomach is very muscular, and the food consists of insects of
various kinds and small seeds.