446 BRITISH BIRDS' NESTS. 



runs over the eye and ear-coverts. Back of neck, 

 back, scapulars, and rump bluish-grey ; wing-coverts 

 black, or very nearly so, tipped with buffish-white ; 

 quills black, some of the inner ones edged on the 

 outer webs with yellowish-white, and liberally 

 marked on the inner, towards the base, with white. 

 Upper tail-coverts greenish-yellow ; tail black, 

 yellowish on the edges of the centre feathers 

 towards the base ; the two outside quills on either 

 side white, with the exception of a narrow black 

 line on the outer web of the second feather. Chin 

 and throat black, separated from the sides of 

 the head and neck by a white line ; breast, belly, 

 and under-parts bright yellow. Legs, toes, and 

 claws pale brown. 



Situation and Locality. On shelves of rock, in 

 crevices, in rough, rocky, and uneven banks, holes 

 in stone walls, behind or under large stones, rarely 

 far away from water. It is very local, and, like the 

 Dipper, seems to lay claim to a certain length of 

 stream. I am familiar with two waterfalls on moor- 

 land becks in the north of England where a Dipper 

 and a Grey Wagtail nest almost yearly within a 

 few yards of each other. I have known the bird 

 on one occasion become foster-parent to a young 

 Cuckoo. It breeds in the western and northern 

 counties of England ; in Wales, Scotland, and 

 in parts of Ireland. Our illustrations were pro- 

 cured in Westmorland. 



Materials. Rootlets, grass, and moss, lined 

 with horse and cowhair ; sometimes a few 

 feathers. 



Eggs. Four or five, occasionally six, of a greyish- 

 white ground-colour, spotted and speckled with 

 pale brown. Sometimes the ground-colour is buffi sh 



