Troglodytes. BIRDS. PASSERES. 73 



dining to yellow at the edges; mouth pale safFron-yellow. Irides hazel* 

 Plumage below pale lemon-yellow, the belly mixed with silvery-white, and 

 vent and under tail-covers inclining to deep straw-yellow. Quill and tail- 

 feathers dusky, edged with yellow, except the exterior tail-feather on each 

 side, which is' plain. Female similar. ]S T est on the ground, composed exter- 

 nally of dried leaves, then coarse grass, and lined with feathers. Eggs 6, 

 white, speckled with purplish-red at the larger end only, and here and there 



a single speck on the sides This bird arrives in the south of England about 



the end of March ; is restless ; and utters its double notes four or five times 

 in succession, resembling the words Chip Chop. — Temminck seems to have 

 misplaced the synonimes of these two last species. We have followed Mon- 



tagu. 



Gen. XXXIV. TROGLODYTES. Ween.— Bill slightly 

 bent, slender, subulate. 



72. T. vulgaris. Common Wren. — Plumage, above, dark 

 reddish-brown, crossed by obscure dusky lines ; over the eye a 

 narrow lio-ht streak. 



o 



Passer troglodytes, Will. Orn. 1G4. Sibb. Scot. 18 — Motacilla troglody- 

 tes, Lhiu. Syst. i. 337. Perm. Brit. Zool. i. 380.— Sylvia troglodytes, 

 Temm.'i. 233. — S, Kitty wren ; W, Dryw; G, Dreathan. — Resident and 



common. 



Length 4i, breadth G$ inches, weight nearly 3 drams. Bill and legs dusky 

 brown ; the inside of the mouth yellow. Irides dark hazel. Quills dusky- 

 brown, spotted on the outer webs with light brown. Tail of 12 feathers, 

 crossed with dusky black lines. Plumage, beneath, light rufous brown ; sides 

 and thighs crossed with darker lines. Under tail-covers obscurely spotted 

 with black and white. Female smaller, lighter in the colour, with the trans- 

 verse bars less distinct. Nest placed under the thatch of houses, against a 

 mossy tree or bank ; usually composed of moss, lined with feathers and hair. 

 The eggs are generally 7 or 8, but sometimes double that number, white, 

 with a few small reddish spots at the larger end — This little insectivorous 

 bird braves the severest winters, and, like the Golden-Crowned Wren, is re- 

 sident in Zetland. Sings sweetly in spring. 



Gen. XXXV. MOTACILLA. Wagtail.— Tarsus double 

 the length of the middle toe. Tail constantly in motion. 

 Pace running. 



73. M. alba. White Wagtail.— The front, cheeks, side cf 

 the neck and belly white. 



Will. Orn. 171- Sibb. Scot. 18. Penn. Brit. Zool. i. 142. Temm. Orn. 

 i. 255., Water-wagtail. — F, Dish-washer, Washer-woman ; W, Brith y 

 fyches, Tinsigl y gwys ; G, Breal ant sil. — Resident near water. 



Length 7^, breadth 11 inches; weight 6 drams. Bill, mouth, and legs, 

 black. Irides hazel. The back of the head, upper and under side of the 

 neck, chin, and breast, black. Back dusky, inclining to cinereous. Quills 

 dusky ; the greater covers black, with white tips. Tail black ; the two lateral 

 feathers white, but black at the base. In winter the chin and throat are 

 white. In the female the black is more dusky, and the white less pure; the 

 tips of the covers grey. Nest in walls or on old trees ; composed of moss, 

 dried grass and wool, and lined with hair or feathers. Eggs 4 or 5, white, 



