PIED WAGTAIL. 



365 



the pleasure of observing their habits, seems to prove that 

 partiality to other prey, besides aquatic insects, has some in- 

 fluence in the constant visits of Wagtails to water. *' I 

 had also during the summer and autumn of 1837 several 

 Wagtails, the Pied and Yellow, both of which were very 

 expert in catching and feeding on minnows which were in a 

 fountain in the centre of the aviary. These birds hover over 

 the water, and, as they skim the surface, catch the minnow 

 as it approaches the top of the water in the most dexterous 

 manner, and I was much surprised at the wariness and cun- 

 ning of some Blackbirds and Thrushes in watching the Wag- 

 tails catch the minnows, and immediately seizing the prize 

 for their own dinner." 



The nest of our Pied Wagtail is formed of moss, dead 

 grass, and fibrous roots, lined with hair and a few feathers ; 

 the nest is sometimes placed on the ground on a ditch bank, 

 sometimes in a hole of a wall, or thatch of an out-building, 

 and it is frequently fixed in the side of a wood stack, or hay- 



