THE BIRDS OF DEVONSHIRE. 29 



" The male, althougli of a fine yellow on the under - 

 parts, had a dark spot on the breast, which I suspect 

 is usual after the autumnal moult, the head was pure 

 gray, and the stripe over the eye and throat, white " 

 (Zool. 1874. p. 4229). The same Ornithologist 

 occasionally noticed a few young Wagtails, which 

 showed none of the usual light yellow colour on 

 any part of the body, and possessed such other 

 characteristics as suggested that they were perhaps 

 the young of M. flava. In the spring of 1880, 

 Mr. H. Nicholls shot a pair of these Wagtails near 

 Kingsbridge ; these specimens are in tlie collection 

 of Mr. Andrews (Zool. 1880. p. 487). 



YELLOW WkGTAlL.—JIufacilhi rail, (13p;. 



A SUMMER visitant, occurring plentifully in spring 

 and autumn, and nesting with us in limited numbers ; 

 as at Plymouth, where Mr. Gatcombe found it 

 breeding in 1872, on the line of its migrations. 

 '' For a week or two only,'' he writes, " on the first 

 arrival of this species in spring, small flocks may 

 annually be seen in our meadows and marshes, 

 but on their return in autumn their numbers are 

 greatly increased ; large companies, composed 

 chiefly of young birds of the season, with their 

 parents, may then be observed in meadows, marshes, 

 fields, and even on the cliffs all along the coast, just 

 before their departure for the winter " (Zool. 1872. 

 p. 3166). 



