WHITE WAGTAIL. 



551 



In the adult male in summer the bill is black : the front 

 and sides of the head white, extending over the eyes, and 

 forming a patch on the sides of the neck ; crown and back of 

 the head and nape, black ; back, scapulars, rump and upper 

 tail-coverts, pearl-grey or very light ash-grey ; primaries, 

 secondaries, tertials and wing-coverts brownish-black, with 

 broad outer margins of greyish-white ; the two middle tail- 

 feathers black bordered with white ; the two outer tail- 

 feathers, on each side, white, with a black edge on the inner 

 web ; the remaining three pairs, black ; the chin and throat 

 black ; breast, belly and lower tail-coverts, white : legs, toes 

 and claws black. 



The whole length is about seven inches and three-eighths ; 

 from the carpal joint to the end of the wing rather more than 

 three inches : and it has been asserted that this bird gene- 

 rally appears rather smaller than the Pied Wagtail. 



The female has the forehead and cheeks dull white ; the 

 throat is more or less mottled with white, the black on the 

 occiput covers less space, the back is tinged with olive, the 

 edges of the wing-coverts incline to a greyish-white, and the 

 black everywhere is less pure. 



The vignette below represents the male White Wagtail in 

 summer and winter — and renders a description of the plu- 

 mage in the latter season unnecessary, the white chin and 

 upper part of the throat being the principal difference. 



