THE WAGTAILS. 



99 



in the south of England, where many winter. Their move- 

 ments and ways of capturing insects are the same as those of 

 the preceding species. It is a more shy and retiring bird than 

 the Pied Wagtail, and is a somewhat early breeder, as we have 

 known the young to be on the wing in the early part of May. 



Nest. — Resembles that of the Pied Wagtail, but generally to 

 be found near a stream, built on the bank under a shelf of 

 rock, and generally well concealed by the surrounding herbage. 

 We found a nest for three years in succession in some ivy- 

 covered trellis-work which grew over a disused bath-house at 

 Avington Park, and Mr. Seebohm states that he once saw a 

 nest built in the fork of three stems of an alder-tree, close to 

 the ground, almost overhanging the water. The same observer 

 remarks that he has found the nest lined with cow-hair, the 

 preference being given to white, and he observed the same 

 habits in Greece, the inner lining of the nest being made of 

 white goats' hair in the last-named country. 



Eggs. — Generally five, but occasionally as many as seven. 

 In colour they vary considerably, the ground-tint being more 

 olive than in the two foregoing species. Occasionally there is 

 an approach to the markings and specklings of the White Wag- 

 tail, but as a rule the tendency in the Grey Wagtail's egg is 

 towards uniformity, one clutch procured by Mr. R. J. Ussher, 

 in co. Waterford, being nearly uniform bluish-white, with only 

 the faintest indications of rufous mottlings. Another clutch 

 taken by the same gentleman is bluish-white, handsomely 

 mottled and spotted with rufous-brown and with grey under- 

 lying blotches and spots. As a rule the colour of each clutch 

 of eggs is the same in character, but occasionally there is some 

 variation in this respect, a clutch of four from the Vosges 

 Mountains having two of the eggs nearly uniform pale olive, 

 while the others are thickly spotted and blotched with pale 

 brown, so that the olive ground-colour is all but concealed. 

 Axis, o'75-o"8 inch; diam., 0*55. (Plate xxxi., fig. 3.) 



IV. THE YELLOW WAGTAIL. MOTACILLA CAMPESTRIS. 



Moiacilla campestris, Pall. Reis. Russ. Reichs, iii., Anhang, 

 p. 697 (1776); Sharpe, Cat. B. Brit. Mus., x., p. 510, 

 pi. vi., figs. 1, 2 (1885). 



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