522 REPTILES AND BIRDS. 
narrow ; plumage soft and blended; the wings jong, broad, and 
pointed; tail long, straight, slender, consisting of twelve weak, 
narrow feathers. The Wagtails are intimately allied to the Pipits, 
and resemble them in many of their habits, differing chiefly in the 
lengthened tail and shorter claws. Both are remarkable for the 
vibratory motion of their body while standing or walking, which their 
long tail renders a conspicuous feature. 
The Pied Wagtail (AZotacilla Yarrellit, Fig. 233), which is generally 
distributed in England, seems until lately to have been confused 
Fig. 232.—The Stone-chat. 
with the White Wagtail (A/o/aci/la alba). In form and proportion the 
two species closely resemble each other, the Pied Wagtail being the 
smaller. Mr. Gould states, in the “‘ Magazine of Natural History,” 
that while preparing his work on the birds of Europe he was surprised 
to find that the sprightly Pied Wagtail, so common in our island at all 
seasons, could not be referred to any described species, and that its 
habitat was limited to the British Islands, Norway, and Sweden. 
The true Motacilla alba of Linneus, on the other hand, is abundant 
in France, particularly in the neighbourhood of Calais, but has 
never been discovered on the opposite Kentish coast. 
The Quaketails (Motacilla Hava, Fig. 234) form the transition 
