Wagtails. 107 



or other scraps, or perhaps the insects attracted to 

 them ; but in summer it generally frequents the banks 

 of streams and ditches, and feeds a good deal upon 

 aquatic insects. The country people often call it the 

 " Dish-washer," from its love of water, and the 

 "Washerwoman," its habit of beating its tail on the 

 ground resembling the process of beating the linen by 

 the river-side, common in countries where the washing 

 is done by the side of rivers and streams. 



The Pied Wagtail has a sweet and varied song, but 

 does not sing so loudly as the GREY WAGTAIL (Mota- 

 cilla campestris), or so sweetly as the YELLOW WAG- 

 TAIL (M.flava or sulphured), sometimes called RAY'S 

 WAGTAIL. The former is a very pretty bird, more 

 slender and with a longer tail than the Pied Wagtail. 

 It is grey, with a black throat and chin, black and 

 white tail and wings, and the under part of the body 

 is of a bright yellow ; but during the winter months 

 this colour fades into a very pale yellow, and the 

 black on the throat becomes yellowish-white. This 

 bird remains all the winter in the south of England, 

 but is said to migrate from the northern counties. It 

 is not such a familiar bird as the Pied Wagtail, but is 

 said to have a peculiar fancy for flying against win- 

 dows and pecking at the glass, either attracted by the 

 flies crawling up the panes, or to see its own image 

 reflected in it, which would seem most likely : many 

 birds delight in the small mirrors which are sometimes 



