5282 BRITAIN'S BIRDS AND THEIR NESTS. 



four to six eggs are thickly speckled with ash brown 

 on a grayish-white ground. Two broods are often reared. 

 ' Water Wagtail ' is the most widely used of the 

 numerous popular names. 



THE WHITE WAGTAIL 



(Motacilla alba). 



The White Wagtail has much more white and gray 

 about the plumage, but is obviously a close ally of the 

 Pied Wagtail. It may, indeed, be regarded as the conti- 

 nental representative of that bird, and the two are often 

 classed as mere races of a single species. The White 

 Wagtail is principally known as a migrant to the coasts 

 of England and Wales. A limited number nest in the 

 southern and eastern portions of the country, and inter- 

 breeding with the Pied Wagtail is known to occur. In 

 Scotland and Ireland the White Wagtail is less often 

 recorded, but it has recently nested on Fair Isle 

 (Shetland). The nesting habits and eggs are similar to 

 those of the Pied Wagtail. 



THE GRAY WAGTAIL 



(Motacilla melanope). 



Plate 97. 



Far less common and much less conspicuous than the 

 Pied Wagtail, but also more beautiful, is the Gray Wag- 

 tail. The shape is slender and graceful in the highest 

 degree, the continuously moving tail is very long, and 

 the colour scheme of the plumage is most delicate and 

 pleasing. A considerable proportion of saffron is dis- 

 played on the under-parts, a fact which must be noted 



