202 SYSTEMATIC CATALOGUE. 



distinctive characters; the most striking of which, 

 however, is the permanent pearl gray or light ash 

 gray of the whole of the back in the white wag- 

 tail, including the upper tail coverts, which in the 

 pied wagtail are invariably dark. 



PIED WAGTAIL, Motacilla Yarrelli. Page 81. 



GRAY WAGTAIL, Motacilla boarula. A regular 

 winter visitor, but very partially distributed. Fre- 

 quents the borders of the clear rivulets on the 

 sandstone formation, and in the vicinity of the 

 Downs. Is very rare in the weald. Departs for 

 the North at an early period of the spring. I 

 once observed a pair of these birds near Woolbed- 

 ing on the 28th of April. The male had partly 

 assumed the black plumage on the throat which is 

 characteristic of the breeding-season. After a 

 patient observation and diligent search, 1 was un- 

 able to discover a nest, or even symptoms of 

 mdification. On revisiting the spot a few days 

 afterwards both birds had disappeared, 



RAY'S WAGTAIL, Motacilla jiava. Yellow wag- 

 tail Provincial, Barley-bird. Known by the 

 latter name in the neighbourhood of Brighton, 

 from its arrival being usually coincident with the 

 spring sowing of that grain. 



