638 



PASSERES 



MOTACILLID^. 



MOTACILLIDJE. 



MoTACiLLA iiUGUBRis, Temminck*. 

 THE PIED WAGTAIL. 



Motacilla YarrelUi t. 



MoTACiLLA, Linnffius^:. — Bill slender, subulate, nearly straight, very slightly 

 notched at the tip ; the mandibles nearly equal in length and their edges slightly 

 compressed inwards. Nostrils basal, lateral, oval and partly concealed by a 

 membrane. Wings moderate : the first primary acuminate and nearly abortive ; 

 the second, third and fourth nearly equal, and one of them the longest ; the fifth 

 considerably shorter ; secondaries moderate, the tertials very long, the longest 

 about equal to the fifth primary. Tail of twelve feathers, long and nearly even. 

 Tarsus scutellated in front, much longer than the middle toe, which is joined to 

 the outer toe at its base ; toes moderate ; claws short except that of the hind toe 

 which in some species is elongated. 



In a communication made to the Zoological Society, July 

 lltli, 1837, by Mr. Gould, he stated his firm conviction that 

 the common British Pied Wagtail was specifically distinct 



* Man. d'Orn. Ed. 2, i. p. 253 (1820) ; but not afterwards, 

 t Gould, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1837, p. 74. 

 X Syst. Nat. Ed. 12, i. p. 328 (1766). 



