PREFACE. VII 



White Wagtail. Motacilla alba, vol. i. p. 869. At 

 the page here quoted the appearance of this bird both in 

 siminier and in winter-plumage is given ; and I mentioned 

 also my belief that attention being drawn to the subject, this 

 species would be occasionally found in this country. It hap- 

 pened that in May 1841, my friend Mr. Frederick Bond 

 found two pairs of this Wagtail frequenting the banks of the 

 Kingsbury Reservoir, and succeeded in shooting three of the 

 birds, two males and a female, and very kindly gave me one 

 of the males. In the spring of 1842 a specimen was shot 

 near Carlisle, which is now in the possession of T, C. Hey- 

 sham, Esq. ; and I have, during the month of April of the 

 present year, received one, and heard of two others that were 

 obtained by Mr, James J. Tratham, in the vicinity of Fal- 

 mouth. Mr. Bond tells me that he has again seen one ex- 

 ample of M. alba near the Reservoir this spring. 



Rock Pipit. A. obscura of Pennant and Montagu, vol. 

 i. p. 394. Mr. Gould, in the 22nd Part of his Birds of 

 Europe, says, "we have some reason to believe that there 

 are two species of Rock Pipits nearly allied to each other, 

 as we have never been able to find in any of the examples 

 killed in the British Islands that uniform vinous tint we have 

 observed to pervade the breast of the continental examples ; 

 neither have Ave been able to meet with any specimens in 

 continental collections that strictly accord with the dull and 

 indistinct markings of those of the British Islands ; to this 

 point we would, therefore, beg the attention of those natu- 

 ralists who may possess opportunities of investigating the 

 subject." The second species here referred to is the Anlhus 

 aquaticus of Bechstein. Two examples of Pipits, obtained 

 in this country, one in the London market, and another at 

 Yarmouth, supposed at first to be specimens of A. aquaticus, 

 proved to be a particular stage of plumage of Montagu''s 

 Rock Pipit ; but among some examples of Pipits obtained 



