THE WHITE WAGTAIL 
specify them. A more useful purpose will be served in 
devoting our allotted space to the points of distinction 
between the two birds. 
The White Wagtail in breeding or summer plumage 
may always be distinguished from the Pied Wagtail, 
which it otherwise very closely resembles, by its slate- 
grey, instead of black, back. In winter plumage the two 
species are very much more alike in colour, but in the 
Pied Wagtail the rump is always darker than that of the 
White Wagtail, the latter having the upper tail-coverts 
dark only. 
It is interesting to remark that the White Wagtail is 
common enough just across the English Channel, in the 
meadows near Calais, actually within sight of our island, 
where, however, it is a rare and local species. ‘The 
two species have been known to interbreed, and in the 
South Kensington Museum a nest from Norfolk is 
exhibited, the male belonging to which is a White Wagtail 
and the female a Pied Wagtail. Another instance has 
been recorded from Suffolk. 
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