THE PIED WAGTAIL. 



163 



Motacilla flava, or Grey-headed Wagtail. This last must 

 be distinguished from the Grey Wagtail, which is a species 

 common to Great Britain and the Continent, and of which 

 the specific name is Bodrula. I am not prepared to admit 

 that either " Grey," or " Grey-headed," are the best names 

 that could have been found, inasmuch as the more con- 

 spicuous colour of both is yellow ; but the reader, having 

 had his attention drawn to the nomenclature of the family, 



THE PIED WAGTAIL. 



will, I doubt not, a*fter reading the following notices of 

 the several birds, and reperusing the above remarks, have 

 gained a tolerably clear view of the whole. 



The Pied Wagtail or Dishwasher is a familiar and favou- 

 rite bird, best known by its habit of frequenting the banks 

 of ponds and streams, where it runs, not hops about, pick- 

 ing insects from the herbage, and frequently rising with a 

 short jerking flight, to capture some winged insect, which 

 M 2 



