PIED WAGTAIL. 195 
low-lying and richly-cultivated districts. It is very fond of frequenting 
meadows and old pastures, is often seen in the farmyard or running along 
the roofs of out-buildings or on the country roadside, bathing in or 
wading through the little puddles, busy in search of food. Although 
many Pied Wagtails remain in this country throughout the year, its 
favourite haunts rarely being quite deserted even in midwinter, many 
retire southwards in autumn and leave our islands. These birds return 
in flocks very early in the following spring. During the cold days of 
early March, when the air is still frosty and bracing, and the cold east 
winds are drying up the moisture of February, the Pied Wagtails may be 
often seen in flocks on the ploughed fields, sometimes accompanied by 
Meadow-Pipits, on their way from the lowlands to the moors. They run 
along the ridges, dipping into the furrows, then appearing again, tame 
enough to pass under the horses’ noses, or come within arm’s length of the 
ploughman as he rests his team at the headland. Few birds are more 
tame and confiding than these fairy-lke little creatures. Stevenson, in 
his ‘ Birds of Norfolk,’ mentions a migratory arrival of these birds which 
he noticed at Teignmouth in Devonshire. They appeared on the morning 
of the 20th of March, and the grassy slopes near the sea were soon covered 
with them; but on the following day they had passed on, probably to 
their breeding-grounds further north. The Pied Wagtail may be often 
seen wading in the shallows near the shore, or running nimbly along the 
little islets of mud in the centre of the stream, passing over the treacherous 
surface without the slightest inconvenience. It is never seen to hop; but 
always runs, sometimes aided by its wings. Its tail is constantly in 
motion, as if serving as a kind of balancing-pole, and is usually spread 
out like a fan when the bird alights or takes wing. Its flight is a droop- 
ing one, performed in a long succession of curves or dips. It is capable 
of flying with very great rapidity, as, for instance, in the spring, when it 
is chasing its mate or a rival to her affections, or when in pursuit of some 
predacious bird. Pied Wagtails stand well upon their legs, the tail is held 
almost horizontal to the body, consequently they can wade to some little 
distance without wetting their plumage, or run over the softest mud with- 
out soiling it. They run hither and thither with wonderful ease, tripping 
daintily along, ever and anon taking little flights to catch passing flies, or 
turning incessantly from left to right in busy search for food. Now they 
run into the shallows for a little way and snap at a gnat on the surface ; 
then, returning, they will pause for a moment, with rapidly quivering tail, 
to preen their plumage. Sometimes they rise into the air and settle on the 
branches overhead, perching just as comfortably as a Sparrow, and evi- 
dently quite at home amongst the twigs. They are very fond of alighting 
on the roof of some out-building, and of running nimbly along calling 
incessantly to each other, or making little sallies into the air like a Fly- 
o2 
