THE BIRD-LIFE OF LONDON 
chance attempting to breed. ‘This Wagtail is by far the 
best known of the five species that nest in the British 
Islands, and is one of the most lively and graceful of birds. 
It may not only be seen by the waterside, but running 
daintily about the market-gardens and suburban fields 
where tilling work is in progress, or in the pastures where 
cattle are grazing. It is ever in movement, and its long 
tail is being almost incessantly beaten up and down, as if to 
balance the body. It runs lightly over the earth, occa- 
sionally darting this way or that to snap at a fly, or flutters 
into the air on a similar quest. If disturbed it flies off 
in a peculiar dipping way, each dip accompanied by its call- 
note of chiz-zit. ‘The moment it settles again the long 
tail is rapidly beaten several times in succession, and then 
the sylph-like little creature renews its running to and 
fro. Water is ever an attraction to this Wagtail, the 
sluggish streams like the Brent and the Mole, the open 
ditch, beneath the dignity of a name, the stagnant pool 
in the brickyard, or the horse-pond by the roadside or in 
the corners of the field, all present rich feeding- grounds 
for the Pied Wagtail. Its food consists almost exclusively 
of insects and their larve, together with small worms and 
snails. ‘The cock bird has a song, but only utters it at rare 
and fitful intervals in the love season, and usually when 
hovering for a moment or so above his mate, less frequently 
on the ground or from a tree, where, however, he is rarely 
seen. ‘The song is short, varied, and musical, somewhat 
resembling the twittering music of the Swallow. ‘The 
Pied Wagtail is an early breeder, eggs for the first brood 
being laid in March, and for succeeding broods onwards 
to June. It is probable that many birds of this species 
pair for life, as year after year nests may be found in the 
same spots. The nest, amongst a variety of similar 
situations, is often made in a hole of a wall, under a clod 
of clay or a tile, and is a large, cup-shaped structure, 
formed of dry grass, straws, twigs, moss, or, in fact, almost 
118 
