THE COMMON WAGTAIL. 



189 



THE PENHIIE WARBLER. 



wing-coverts are white and l)lack, in bands. The tail is dark gray, 

 aaving the four outer feathers marked with large spots of white. 

 The sagacity displayed by this bird in building and placing its nest, 

 is truly remarkable. She does not fix it at 

 the forking of the branches, as is usual with 

 most other birds; but she suspends it to a 

 kind of binders, which hang from tree to 

 tree, but particularly from branches that 

 bend over the rivers and deep ravines. The 

 nest consists of dry blades of grass, the ribs 

 of leaves, and exceedingly small roots, 

 interwoven with great art; it is fastened 

 on, or rather it is worked into the pendent strings. It is in fact a 

 Bmall bed, rolled into a ball, so thick and compact as to exclude 

 the rain ; and it rocks in the wind without receiving any injury. 



But the elements are not the only ene.nies against which this bird 

 has to struggle; with wonderful sagacity it provides for the protection 

 of its nest from other accidents. The opening is neither made on the 

 top nor the sides of the nest, but at the bottom. Nor is the entrance 

 direct. After the bird has made its way into the vestibule, it must 

 pass over a kind of partition, and through another aperture, before it 

 descends into the abode of its family. This lodgment is round and 

 soft ; being lined with a species of lichen, which grows on the trees, 

 or with the silky down of plants. 



The birds of this species have a very delicate song, which is con- 

 tinued throughout the year. They are natives of St. Domingo, and 

 some other of the West India islands, where they feed chiefly on 

 insects and fruit. 



THE COMMON WAGTAIL. 



These active and lively little birds run about the sides of ponds and 



small streams, in search of 

 insects and worms ; and in the 

 spring and autumn are constant 

 attendants on the plough, for 

 the sake of the worms thrown 

 up by that instrument. 



Tlie generality of the Wag- 

 tails disappear in the autumn ; 

 but how tliey dispose of them- 

 selves during the winter, ia 

 somewhat difficult to account 

 for. They are often to be seen 

 even in the middle of winter. 

 If there happen to be a fine day, and the sun shine bright, they are 

 sure to make their appearance; chirping briskly, and seeming 

 delighted with the fine weather, though they had not perhaps been 

 seen for three weeks or a month before. Whence then do they come ? 



COMMON WAOTAIL. 



