TITS, WRENS, WAGTAILS, SHRIKES, ETC. 



397 



dressed. The upper pari, as far as the rump, 

 is a very light hluisli-grey faintly tinged on the 

 back with yellow ; the rump and upper tail- 

 coverts are yellowish-olive ; a white streak runs 

 over and down the nape from behind eaeli eye ; 

 the throat is white, shading into pale lemon- 

 orange on the ))reasl, which again shades into 

 a pale gamboge-yellow on the abdomen and 

 under tail-coverts ; the wings are dusky-brown 

 with the long scapulars edged with yellowish- 

 white ; the tail is the same colour as the wings, 

 the centre feathers being edged with olive, the 

 outer feathers pure while, and the second and 

 third edged with dark brown on the outer web. 

 In sunnner and during the breeding season the 

 Grey is the most handsome of our Wagtails, 

 all the colours becoming much more vivid and 

 brilliant ; the uniformily of Ihe lower parls is 

 then broken liy the gorget of deep jet-black 

 which covers the throat and fore part of the 

 neck, running off to a point on 

 the breast, and giving a most 

 pleasing effect to the surround- 

 ing brilliant yellow of the breast . 

 From the gape a white streak 

 runs on each side of the throat 

 between the bluish-grey on the 

 sides of neck and black throat ; 

 the streak behind the eye is 

 also more pronounced. 



The Grey Wagtail's food 

 consists largely of insects, but 

 the smaller aquatic mollusca 

 form a portion, and its ways 

 of capturing its prey are similar 

 to those of the other Wagtails. 

 Through the winter the bird 

 frequents springs, ditches, ponds, and streams, 

 and often visits the farmyard to secure any 

 insects that may be found in the gutters 

 and puddles. Tlie female is 

 more browuly tinged above, 

 yellow on the under parts. 



The Blue-lieaded Wagtail 

 (Linn.) 



white; the tail — except the outer feathers, 

 which are white, streaked with brown on inner 

 web — is dusky-black, the feathers being faintly 

 edged with brown ; the throat is white, and 

 the remainder of under parts brilliant yellow. 

 It is a handsome bird in a cage or aviary, and 

 also for exhibition, but sliould be kept in genial, 

 but not stufTy quarters during the winter. 



The Yellow Wagtail, Molacilla raii (Dresser) 



— also known as Ray's Wagtail — is amongst 



the earliest of our summer 



The Yellow „,igrants, arriving in March. It 



Wactail 



^ ■ breeds in most parts of England, 



the South of Scotland, and iiarts of Ireland, and 

 leaves us again in September. It is one of the 

 most handsome of our insectivorous birds, and 

 has the same graceful build and light, airy 

 carriage as the four preceding species, but, like 

 the Blue-headed, has not quite so great a length 

 of tail. The general colour above is olive- 



duller in colour, 

 and is paler in 



The Blue= 



headed 



Wagtail. 



Molacillit jhwa 

 also known by earlier writers as the 

 Grey-headed Wagtail — is an ac- 

 cidental summer migrant to 

 l-;ngland and Scotland ; but it 

 has a wide range in Europe and 

 Asia. It frequents the same localities, but is 

 not quite so large as the Grey Wagtail, and it 

 has the same slender, graceful build. Colour : 

 the crown of head, nape, and auriculars are 

 bluish-grey, streaked with a darker shade from 

 the nostrils to Ihe eyes, and passing over these 

 and above the auriculars is a streak of white ; 

 the back is olive-yellow, running to a lighter 

 shade on the rump ; the wings are light brown- 

 ish-black — secondaries, scapulars, and coverts 

 — with the outer web edged with yellowish- 



WAGTAIL OR I'lPIT SHOW CAGE. 



yellow, with a faint tinge of green ; the fore- 

 head is brigiit yellow, with a rich brilliant streak 

 of the same colour over each eyebrow ; the 

 under parts are yellow, deepening in tint to 

 richness on the breast ; the wings are a yellowish- 

 brown, deepening almost to black on the pri- 

 maries ; the coverts are tipped and edged with 

 yellowish-white ; the tail, deep brown, shading 

 to a blackish tint, except the two outer feathers 

 on each side which are white, the second one 

 of which has the outer web pale brown, and both 

 a streak of pale brown on the inner web. 



From a habit which the Yellow Wagtail has 

 of frequenting meadows where cows are feeding, 

 and of running around and between the legs of 

 those animals to catch the insects aroused by 

 their trampling, it has obtained the name of 

 " Cowbird " in many country districts. It is a 

 most attractive bird for either cage, aviary or 

 exhibition purposes, and a well-matured, rich- 

 coloured specimen, steady and in perfect plum- 

 age, is, indeed, a keen competitor for the highest 

 possible honours. Though an artificially-heated 



