245 



•colour aud the distribution of their markings, One variety is 

 so closely mottled as to hide all traces of ground colouring ; 

 another has well-defined blotches and speckles. The ground 

 colour, where it can be seen, is of a creamy white, the spots and 

 blotches brownish yellow of various shades. During the 

 winter months thisspecies leaves its summer liaunts, migrating 

 further south, and may then be seen in small parties in most of 

 our southern and midland counties feeding at the horseponds 

 or pools in the rickyards in company with the Pied Wagtail. 

 Occasionally, but very occasionally, a pair stop in one of these 

 haunts for the summer. The only other bird likely to be 

 confused with this species in the Blue-headed Wagtail, but 

 this bird is an extremely rare migrant to our shores, and is a 

 frequenter of pasture land rather than rockbound streams. 

 In summer, however, the male Grey Wagtail may always be 

 distinguished from it by the black patch on the throat, and, as 

 above remarked, the blue-headed species is absent from our 

 island in the winter. We may just say that the female Grey 

 Wagtail has no black throat-patch, and in winter the cock 

 loses his." 



POST MORTEM REPORTS. 



{Vide Rules). 



Sui,PHUR vSeed - EATER, cock. (Miss Brooksbank). The 

 immediate cause of death was pneumonia of limited 

 extent : the remote cause was a chronic blood disease 

 (leucocythsemia), characterized by a disproportion of white 

 to red blood cells and causing a condition of disease in the 

 spleen. This appears to be a rather commoner disease in 

 birds than in man. 



Canary. (Miss Nicholson). This bird was suffering from a 

 general septicaemia, the lungs being pneumonic, the liver 

 congested, the intestines and mesentery inflamed, and the 

 spleen enlarged. The swelling in the frontal region of the 

 head was composed of effused and broken down blood in 

 which were present very numerous septic organisms. In 

 fact it was the commencement of what is so often 

 erroneously called "a tuberculous nodule." The blood- 

 vessels of the ])raiu were much engorged, the grev matter 

 presenting a pink appearance. 



