L-2 4 
than 7 inches, wing 33 inches. The female is a little duller in colour, her tail is 
slightly shorter, but in both sexes it is conspicuously long. The young are duller 
and browner. 
3. YeLtow Waerarit.—Adult male in breeding plumage: head and upper parts greenish- 
olive, but the forehead is yellower, and there is a conspicuous yellow streak over the 
eye; wings brown; tail feathers blackish-brown, except the two outer pair, which 
are almost white; under parts sulphur-yellow; bill, legs, and feet, black. Length 
about 6 inches, wing 3,4, inches. ‘The female is browner above, and the yellow parts 
are less bright. In autumn both sexes become paler. The young are at first 
ereenish-brown above, and buff below, but soon grow more like their parents. 
III. Where, when, and in what numbers found. 
The Pied Wagtail is a common resident throughout the kingdom, but it has a tendency 
to move from north to south in autumn, and many migrate at that time to France, returning 
in spring. 
rThe Grey Wagtail is resident in all parts of Great Britain where there are swift streams, 
and is not uncommon in Ireland. In winter many descend to the lower country, but few 
remain there to breed, and only when they are tempted by some mill stream or artificial 
water-fall. 
The Yellow Wagtail is a summer visitor only, fairly abundant in all pasture lands in 
England, but less common in the north and in Ireland. It arrives in April and leaves us 
in September. 
IV. Food. 
All the Wagtails are insect eaters, as anyone may see for himself on lawn or meadow, or 
by the brookside. This is the reason why the Pied and Yellow species are so fond of running 
about by cattle and sheep, which stir up the insects as they graze. The Grey Wagtail also 
eats small molluscs, which it finds in the brooks, and is fond of minute beetles; but this 
bird will frequent a lawn if it be near the nest, and pick up insects in the same charming 
frisky manner as the Pied Wagtail. 
Y. Characteristics. 
The Wactails, like their near relations the Pipits, are birds of very well marked habits, 
in which they all closely resemble each other. They all run instead of hopping, they all 
have a very graceful undulating flight, and the shrill short call note is in all the three species 
much alike, though that of the Yellow Wagtail, the smallest of the three, is finer and 
higher in pitch. But the leading characteristic of the genus is the tail motion, which has 
earned for these birds many local names, such as Dishwasher. The longest tail of the three 
is that of the Grey Wagtail, which is seldom still; it is moved up and down together with 
the whole body, while in the other species it is “ wagged” more independently of the body, 
and less persistently. In nesting habits the three species differ to some extent. The Pied 
Wagtail’s nest may be almost anywhere—in banks, walls, cattle sheds, thatch, or in any 
place likely to escape the notice of its persistent enemy the Cuckoo. It is particularly fond 
of railway stations, where it almost always meets with protection from the officials. The 
eges are greyish-white in ground colour, spotted all over with greyish-brown. The Grey 
Wagtail will sometimes build in walls covered with creepers, or in the rafters of a 
boathouse; but its usual choice is a steep bank near water, and it prefers to have a ledge of 
rock overhanging the nest, The eggs of this bird are as a rule pale grey, mottled with light 
brown. The Yellow Wagtail builds always on the ground, often in a cornfield and in a 
furrow, and its eggs closely resemble those of the Grey Wagtail. All three species use 
much the same material for the nest; it is generally of dried grass, roots, and moss and hair, 
but differs both in material and bulk according to the position and locality. 
