164 COMMON WAGTAIL. 



song in the evening, and continues it through the whole 

 night. These birds usually leave us about the middle 

 of September, for the purpose, as it is supposed, of 

 migrating into Asia ; and return in the month of April. 

 If kept in cages, they will continue their song for seven 

 or eight months in the year, from the beginning of No- 

 vember until midsummer. Nightingales build their nests 

 in low, thick hedges, a little above the ground, and most 

 frequently where briars, thorns, and bushes grow thick. 

 The nest is formed of leaves, straws, and moss. The eggs 

 are of a brown or nutmeg colour. The Nightingale is 

 said not to be found in Devonshire, Cornwall, or North 

 Wales ; nor in any of the northern counties of England, 

 except Yorkshire, to some parts of which it occasionally 

 migrates. 



The colours of these birds are plain and unattract- 

 tive : the upper parts of the plumage are of a rusty 

 brown colour, tinged with olive ; and the under parts 

 of a pale ash colour, almost white at the throat and 

 belly. 



Common Wagtail Wagtails are constantly seen run- 

 ning about near the shallow water of ponds, rivers, and 

 brooks, for the purpose of picking up insects and 

 worms. They are also constant attendants upon the 

 plough, for the sake of the worms which are thrown 

 up by that instrument. Their tail is very long, and is 

 in constant motion. The nest of the wagtail is built 

 upon the ground, composed, externally, of moss, grass, 

 and roots, and lined with hair and feathers. The 

 female lays five whitish eggs, marked with small spots 

 of different shades of brown, particularly towards the 

 larger end. 



