133 



ON THE YELLOW WAGTAILS, AND THEIR 

 POSITION IN THE BRITISH AVIFAUNA. 



BY 



N. F. TICEHURST, f.r.c.s., m.b.o.u. 



In 1832 the late John Gould pointed out that the British 

 Yellow Wagtail was a different species from that 

 inhabiting- the nearest parts of the continent and at the 

 same time clearly showed that, while the continental bird 

 was of rare occurrence in this country, our common 

 species was almost equally rare on the continent.^ 



The common Yellow Wagtail {Motacilla raii, Bonaparte) 

 is a regular summer migrant to the British islands, wliich 

 form its head-quarters throughout the breeding season. 

 It arrives on our south coast during the last ten days of 

 March, throughout April and during the first week of 

 May, the males generally aj^pearing a full fortnight before 

 the females. 



Its breeding range extends from the southern counties 

 of England as far west as Somerset, northward to 

 Inverness and Aberdeen, throughout which area it is 

 generally distributed in suitable localities. 



In Devon and Cornwall it occurs chiefly as a sj)ring and 

 autumn migrant, though in the former county it breeds in 

 limited numbers. In Wales it is local as a breeding 

 sjDecies, while to the north of Scotland it can only be 

 regarded as a rare visitor. It is said to have occurred in 

 the Shetlands, and an adult male was obtained on Fair 

 Isle, 8th May, 1906, and in Ireland it is extremely local, 

 breeding in one or two localities only. 



In most parts of the continent it occurs only as a 

 straggler during the periods of migration, but in France 

 it is found in summer as a breeding species to the west of 



* " Proc. Zool. Soc," 1832, p. 129. 



