162 PIED WAGTAIL. 
a little stone; now flying off on a sudden to join some 
neighbouring troop of companions, whose companionship it 
greets with a. shrill though gentle twitter; now springing into 
the air to capture a fly; now threading its way among a herd 
of cattle, or a flock of domestic birds; still almost heedlessly 
awaiting your near approach. If disturbed, it springs up with 
a sharp but delicate note of alarm, and after a few aerial 
bounds frequently alights again, but sometimes goes right 
away. 
The parent bird is extremely solicitous for the safety of 
her young, and will almost suffer herself to be taken off the 
nest sooner than forsake them. If she does fly off, it is only 
to a short distance, and immediately the danger is past she 
is back to her post. The young continue with their parents 
during the summer and autumn, the difference in their respective 
plumage pointing each out at a glance. 
The flight of this bird is light and undulated, but unsteady. 
It rises and falls alternately, renewing the motion of its wings 
at the pause of each descent. 
Its food is chiefly composed of insects; and these, as Mr. 
Macgillivray well describes, are sought in various diverse 
localities. Actively and dexterously the bird steps among 
rocks and stones, and then pitching on the top of one, instantly 
vibrates its tail, as if poising itself. Again it makes an aerial 
sally, flutters about a little, seizes an insect or two, then glides 
over the ground, swerving to either side, and resumes its 
attitude of momentary pause. Sometimes it essays an excursion 
over the water, one while darting forwards in a straight line, 
then hovering in the same spot, to seize some prey; and 
then, as if fatigued with the unwonted effort, it makes a 
sudden detour, and betakes itself to some offering place of 
yest. At times it may be seen running along the ridge of 
the top of a house, and every now and then capturing a fly. 
It has been asserted that it also feeds on minnows, the small 
try of fish, and on minute shell-fish. 
The note is a sharp cheep, which it repeats frequently when 
alarmed, flying about in a wavering manner. It sometimes 
aspires to a pleasant modulation, which may almost be dignified 
with the name of a song. 
The nest is commenced in the beginning or middle of 
April, according to the season. It is placed in situations of 
very opposite kinds—in a hole of a stone wall, the side of 
a bridge, in a hollow of a tree, on a heap of stones, the 
