SOME BIRDS OF THE STREAM 63 



The Yellow or Ray's Wagtail {M. rati) is a fre- 

 quenter of some of the meadows bordering the Wye ; 

 but water is in no way essential to its welfare, and 

 we have on more than one occasion seen the nest 

 miles from a river of any kind. This Wagtail is a 

 migrant to our islands, reaching them early in April, 

 but a few stay the winter through in the more 

 sheltered districts. 



These birds afford a pleasing spectacle to the eye 

 when engaged in catching flies and other insects 

 round the grazing kine. How fearlessly they run 

 about under the very muzzles of the cattle and 

 between their legs when lying down ! The nest, 

 usually cunningly concealed, is built under some 

 sheltering tuft of herbage in the pastures or under a 

 loose slate or stone in the fallows, but last year on 

 May 31st we saw one which the veriest tiro at bird's- 

 nesting must have found, built in a little hollow in 

 the soil and barely concealed by a clump of marsh 

 marigolds. The eggs are not unlike those of the 

 Grey Wagtail, but the markings are often darker 

 and more distinct. Occasionally a pinkish tinge is 

 observed in them. All the Wagtails' nests have a 

 rough exterior, composed chiefly of bents, rootlets 

 and dried grass, but are snugly and smoothly lined 

 with fur and hair. 



The fisherman's favourite, too (the common Sand- 

 piper, we mean), abounds by all fast-flowing rocky 

 streams, and is especially plentiful on the Wye and 

 all its feeder streams. The angler's eye kindles at 

 the sight of these charming waders, for he knows full 

 well that the may-fly season is close at hand. Indeed, 



