YELLOW WAGTAIL 115 
THE BLUE-HEADED (OR GREY-HEADED) WAGTAIL 
MOTACILLA FLAVA 
Top of the head, lore, and nape lead-grey; over the eye a white streak ; 
scapulars, back, and upper tail-coverts greenish olive, tinged with yellow ; 
chin white, in the young male yellow ; under parts bright yellow. Length 
six inches and ahalf. Eggs mottled with yellow, brown, and grey. 
Tus, one of the common Yellow Wagtails of the Continent, is a 
rare visitor in this country. Its habits, nest, and eggs, closely 
resemble those of the next species. It is the Bergeronette printantére 
(‘ Little shepherdess of the Spring ’) of the French, a pretty name, 
suggested by the habit, common to all the genus, of resorting to 
sheepfolds for the sake of feeding on the flies with which such places 
abound. 
YELLOW WAGTAIL 
MOTACILLA RAII 
Top of the head, lore, nape, back, and scapulars pale olive; over the eye a 
streak of bright yellow; chin yellow; lower parts of the same colour. 
Length six inches and a half. Eggs whitish, mottled with yellow, 
brown, and grey. 
Ray’s Wagtail, the third of the Yellow Wagtails placed on the list 
of British birds, is, next to the Pied, the best known species, being 
a regular summer visitor, and everywhere tolerably common. It 
is said by most authors to frequent the water rather less than the 
other species, and to prefer fields of peas and tares, open downs and 
sheep pastures ; but, as far as my own observation goes, I have seen 
it far more frequently near water than elsewhere, and if I wished 
to observe its habits, I should repair to the nearest canal or river, 
in the certain expectation of seeing a pair hunting among the aquatic 
weeds for their food, running along the sandy or muddy shore, 
perching on the broad leaves of the water-lily, and chasing each 
other with dipping flight through the air. I am inclined to believe 
that, though it may have often been noticed in dry pastures and 
stony places, yet that when so circumstanced, it is only engaged on an 
exploring expedition from its watery haunts; for it is scarcely possible 
that a bird so thoroughly at home in a weedy pond, can ever be long 
absent from such a locality from choice. Its habits are precisely 
similar to those of the Pied Wagtail, except that it visits us in the 
summer exclusively, retiring southwards in autumn. It may often 
also be seen in company with that species. Besides its call-note, 
which consists of two shrill notes, the second of which is a musical 
tone lower than the first, it has a short and exceedingly sweet song, 
something like that of the Redbreast when at its best. This I have 
heard it utter whilst it was perched on a low bush overhanging a 
pond. Its nest was probably somewhere in the neighbourhood, for 
when disturbed it flew to a short distance only, alighted on another 
