280 BRITAIN'S BIRDS AND THEIR NESTS. 



The nest is usually placed several feet from the ground, 

 in a hedge or tall, strong bush. It is a large aifair of 

 roots, stems, and moss, lined with wool, hair, and some- 

 times bent-grass. The eggs are from four to six in 

 number, and vary very much in colour. The ground- 

 colour is usually very light ; the tint may be yellow, 

 green, or pink. The markings are cloudings or zonings of 

 a bluish-gray or reddish hue. The eggs of a clutch are 

 normally of one type. The species is single-brooded. 



[Of the three other Shrikes on the ' British List,"* the 

 Woodchat is suspected of having bred in the Isle of 

 Wight. It is, however, not the next commonest as a 

 migrant.] 



Family, MOTACILLID^ (Wagtails and Pipits). 



THE PIED WAGTAIL 



(Motacilla lugubris). 



Plate 96. 



In almost every part of the British Isles where there 

 are damp meadows and running streams we are likely to 

 find the Pied Wagtail. Of such haunts it is always a 

 characteristic and conspicuous inhabitant, running about 

 at the water''s edge, perching momentarily on a projecting 

 stone, or flying across the stream with a loud, harsh 

 ' chissick.' About all these actions some remark may be 

 made. The members of this family are among the 

 smallest of our native birds that habitually walk or run. 

 With the exception of the Wagtails and the Pipits, the 

 Larks, the Starling, and the Crows, most of the British 

 Passeres generally proceed, when on the ground, by means 

 of a series of hops, both feet performing the same move- 

 ments simultaneously. When stopping for an instant in 



