Bird Observations 



August 28th. Aschi. Wagtails. Saw 

 about a dozen running about on the low 

 roof of a chalet in a meadow, flying down 

 to the meadow occasionally, but mostly 

 sunning and preening themselves on the 

 roof. One was evidently the pied, or the 

 continental form, motacilla alba. In the 

 one I saw at Grindelwald the breast seemed 

 to have the black end in this shape 

 at the bottom, not as in the picture, 

 The other wagtails were young pieds or 

 the yellow, which ? They answered to the 

 description in Hudson "top of head, lore, 

 nape, back and scapulars greenish olive, 

 bright yellow streak over the eye, lower 

 parts sulphur yellow," except that they did 

 not seem as brightly colored as that, and 

 they had a noticeable grey spot, rather 

 large, on the breast, the coloring about the 

 throat, sides of head, etc., was quite yel- 

 lowish, outer tail feathers white. Wag- 

 tails do not carry their tails as high as our 

 water thrushes, drag them more, but the 

 motion is otherwise quite similar. Were 

 these birds motacilla rayii or flava (Euro- 

 pean form of yellow), or young of lugu- 

 brir? Watched them a long time in excel- 

 lent light. 



August 2gth. Saw three wagtails this 



