GREEN-HEADED QUAKETAIL, 215 



great numbers of Wagtails which were scattered about. These 

 meadows are artificially irrigated with water from the town, 

 impregnated with putrescent matter, and produce abundant 

 crops of grass, which are cut down every now and then as green 

 food for cattle. Phleum pratense, Poa trivialis, Glyceria 

 fluitans, and other species form the valuable part of their pro- 

 duce ; but these plants are intermixed with Caltha palustris, 

 Lychnis Flos-cuculi, Rumex obtusifolius, and a variety of less 

 remarkable weeds. On the stems of the docks I observed 

 several small birds w^hich engaged my attention by the pecu- 

 liarity of their motions, although on watching them attentively 

 I supposed them not unlike those of the Grey Wagtail. That 

 bird however I had never seen in flocks in such a place ; nor 

 had I previously observed Wagtails searching for insects on 

 the stems and among the leaves of plants. So I shot several 

 specimens, and finding them different from any that I remem- 

 bered to have examined, was not a little pleased to think that 

 I had fallen upon something rare. On comparing them with 

 the descriptions in M. Temminck's manual, I found nothing 

 there that agreed precisely with them, although with the ex- 

 ception of the " Tete et nuque d'un cendre bleuatre tres pur*" 

 of his Motacilla flava, all the particulars of his characters of 

 that bird corresj)onded sufficiently with mine. Having made a 

 drawing of them, and noted their characters, I allowed the mat- 

 ter to remain undecided; but afterwards, hearing of Mr Gould's 

 observations, supposed that I had found his Motacilla neglecta. 

 I believe several hundreds of them, old and young, were col- 

 lected in these meadows, and busily employed in picking up 

 the insects that abounded there. Their flight was performed in 

 long undulations, like that of the Grey Wagtail, and they sel- 

 dom shifted from place to place by short starts. In alighting 

 they spread or rather jerked out their tail, so as to render con- 

 spicuous the white colour of the lateral feathers. They seemed 

 to prefer the large leafy plants, such as the docks ; but they 

 also settled in places where the grass had been recently mown, 

 and there ran about precisely in the same manner as the Wag- 

 tails. They remained in the meadows for several days, and 

 then disappeared. 



