Io8 THE BIRDS OF THE BRITISH ISLES. 



Yellow Wagtail. MoiadUa rail (Bon op.). 



The various Yellow Wagtails are divided into many geo- 

 graphical races, and difference of opinion exists as to the 

 specific position of our bird and the Continental Blue-headed 

 Wagtail. In any case, whether a sub-species of M.fiava or 

 a distinct species, the Yellow Wagtail (Plate 44) has a restricted 

 breeding range ; it is local in our islands, rare in the west, in 

 Scotland and Ireland, and on the Continent only known with 

 certainty in Holland and north-western France. It passes 

 through the Spanish Peninsula on migration and winters in 

 West Africa. In most parts of Wales and in Cornwall it is 

 a regular bird of passage but does not nest. 



All wagtails are dainty, delicate birds, but the Yellow is the 

 most graceful and fairy-like of them all ; in March and April, 

 when the flocks appear in our pastures, the males are wonder- 

 fully brilliant. As they run nimbly through the growing 

 herbage their slight bodies are often hidden, but the bright 

 colours, gold as the dandelions, catch the eye. The open 

 country, meadow land or cultivated field, common or marsh, 

 is the haunt of the Yellow Wagtail ; it feeds amongst the 

 grazing cattle and follows the ploughman, ever on the look-out 

 for insects and their larvae or small snails in the grass. For 

 no apparent reason a flock will rise suddenly and fly to the 

 nearest trees, but after perching for a few moments the 

 members drop back one by one into the grass. In courtship 

 the male, with quivering wings and tail fanned, will hover a 

 few feet above the feeding female, and occasionally utter a 

 short but cheery song, though as a rule he is a silent bird. At 

 the roost, which is frequently a reed-bed both in spring and 

 autumn, there is a continuous soft twitter, but as other species 

 are usually present it is not easy to analyse the notes. The 

 call, a sibilant tissik, is constantly uttered during the undu- 



