BRITISH BIRDS' NESTS. 



445 



Time. May and June, according to Messrs. 

 Dixon and Miller Christy ; but these months are 

 either based upon Continental observations or 

 deductions from the laying season of the Yellow 

 Wagtail. 



Remarks. About forty specimens of the Blue- 

 headed Wagtail have been procured in this coun- 

 try, shot in January, April, June, and October. 

 Its nest has only been met with on one or two 

 occasions at Gateshead, but it is thought that 

 from its close similarity to the Yellow Wagtail 

 it has often been overlooked. Call note: chit-up. 

 Local or other name : Grey - headed Wagtail. 

 There is, so far as I can gather, no precise in- 

 formation forthcoming as to whether the bird 

 is a close sitter or not. 



WAGTAIL, GREY. 



(Motacilla melanope.} 

 Order PASSERES ; Family MOTACILLID^: (WAGTAILS). 



Description of 

 Parent Birds . 

 Length about seven 

 and three - quarter 

 inches, nearly half 

 of which is ac- 

 counted for by its 

 unusually long tail. 

 Bill of medium 

 length, nearly 

 straight, and dusky-brown. Irides dark hazel. Crown 

 and sides of head bluish-grey ; a narrow white streak 



GREY WAGTAIL ON NEST. 



