The Motacillidffi of Germany. 11 



plowed its way slowly^ through the canal from Ymuiden to 

 Amsterdam, the eye was favored with the characteristic 

 Dutch landscape, windmills, dams, canals, fat pastures, beau- 

 tiful cows, and of birds the stork, the lapwing, and the wag- 

 tails. The long grass harbored the Yellow Wagtail, but 

 along the roadsides, at the brooks, flowing along with the 

 same slow surety with which everything in Holland moves, 

 at occasional ponds, at the windmills, the White Wagtail 

 was in abundance, showing that it well deserves its German 

 name "Bachstelze." It is a bird that is ever alert, ever in 

 motion, graceful in its movements, pleasing to the eye in its 

 Prussian colors, a favorite with everybody. Early in March 

 it returns to Germany^ running along on the top of the 

 tile roofs, wagging its tail continually. We greet them 

 cordially as one of the first harbingers of spring. Yet ugly 

 snowstorms often come in this month and ice covers the 

 brooks and sloughs. Safely sheltered sleeps the little Wag- 

 tail under the tiles of the roof, or in the knotholes of a beam. 

 Before daylight it is out to seek food, circling about its 

 favorite places, diving down into the snow in its futile ef- 

 forts and seeing that it must seek refuge at gutters, barns, and 

 dung heaps. Bye and bye the ice floats down the rivers, the 

 sun shines brighter — spring has come. The insects leave their 

 gloomy places and begin to play in the warm rays of the 

 spring sun. Troops of wagtails visit these insect meetings 

 to catch them, constantly teasing, chasing, quarreling with 

 one another; nodding the head, wagging the tail, singing at 

 all times, ever restless, now robbing a brother of a fat spider 

 with lightning quickness, now spying a slowly flying crow or 

 hawk with a loud alarm call, and in an instant the whole 

 troop surrounds the detested enemy, scolding, tormenting, 

 pecking at him, till he hurries to the woods. Whirr! They 

 return to their meal. Now they follow the ploughing peasant, 

 gathering worms from the furrows, hurrying hither and 

 thither; away again they fly to the pasture near by, where 

 the sheep are cropping the first grass, to pick up the excre- 

 ments or even to alight on the backs of the animals to 



