Troglodytes. BIRDS. PASSERES. 73 



dining to yellow at the edges ; mouth pale safFron-yellow. Irides hazel- 

 Plumage below pale leiiion-yellow, the belly mixed with silvery-white, and 

 vent and under tail-covers inclining to deep straAv-yellow. Quill and tail- 

 feathers dusky, edged with yellow, excej^t the exterior tail-feather on each 

 side, which is jilain. Female similar. Nest on the ground, comj)osed exter- 

 nally of dried leaves, then coarse grass, and lined with feathers. Eggs 6, 

 white, speckled with purplish-red at the larger end only, and here and there 

 a single speck on the sides — This bird arrives in the south of England about 

 the end of March ; is restless ; and utters its double notes four or five times 

 in succession, resembling the words Chip Chop. — Temminck seems to have 

 misplaced the synonimes of these two last species. We have followed INIon- 

 tagu. 



Gen. XXXIV. TROGLODYTES. WijexV.— Bill sligh^ 

 bent, slender, subulate. 



72. T. znilgar'is. Common Wren. — Plumage, above, dark 

 reddish-brown, crossed by obscure dusky lines ; over the eye a 

 narrow light streak. 



Passer troglodytes. Will. Om. 1G4. Sibb. Scot. 18 ]\Iotacilla troglody- 

 tes, Linn. Syst. i. '^'^^. Penii. Pjrit. Zool. i. 380 — Sylvia troglodytes, 

 Temm. i. 233. — S, Kitty wren ; W, Dryw; G, Dreathan.— Resident and 

 common. 



Length 4^, breadth GJ inches, weight nearly 3 drams. Bill and legs dusky 

 brown ; the inside of tiie mouth yellow. Irides dark hazel. Quills dusky- 

 brown, spotted on the outer webs with light brown. Tail of 12 feathers, 

 crossed with dusky black lines. Plumage, beneath, light rufous brown ; sides 

 and thighs crossed with darker lines. Under tail-covers obscurely spotted 

 with black and white. Female smaller, lighter in the colour, with the trans- 

 verse bars less distinct. Nest placed under the thatch of houses, against a 

 mossy tree or bank ; usually composed of moss, lined with feathers and hair. 

 The eggs are generally 7 or 8, but sometimes double that number, white, 

 with a few small reddish spots at the larger end — This httle insectivorous 

 bird braves the severest winters, and, like the Golden-Crowned Wren, is re- 

 sident in ^Zetland. Sings sweetly in spring. 



Gen. XXXV. MOTACILLA. WACXAiL—Tarsus double 

 the length of the middle toe. Tail constantly in motion. 

 Pace runninsr. 



73. M. alha. White Wagtail.— The front, cheeks, side cf 

 the neck and belly white. 



Will. Orn. 171. Sibb. Scot. 18. Penn. Brit. Zool. i. 142. Temm. Om, 



i. 255., Water-wagtail, — £, Dish-washer, AVasher-woman ; 7r, Brith y 



fyches, Tinsigl y gwys ; G, Breal ant sil. — llesident near water. 



Length 71, breadth 11 inches; weight 6 drams. Bill, mouth, and legs, 



black. Irides hazel. The back of the head, upper and under side of the 



neck, chin, and breast, black. Back dusky, inclining to cinereous. Quills 



dusky ; the greater covers black, with white tips. TaU black ; the two lateral 



feathers white, but black at the base. In winter the chin and throat are 



white. In i\\e female the black is more dusky, and tlie white less pure; the 



tips of the covers grey. Nest in waUs or on old trees ; composed of moss, 



dried grass and wool, and lined with hair or feathers. Eggs 4 or 5, white. 



