522 



REPTILES AND BIRDS. 



narrow ; plumage soft and blended ; the wings long, broad, and 

 pointed ; tail long, straight, slender, consisting of twelve weak, 

 narrow feathers. The Wagtails are intimately allied to the Pipits, 

 and resemble them in many of their habits, differing chiefly in the 

 lengthened tail and shorter claws. Both are remarkable for the 

 vibratory motion of their body while standing or walking, which their 

 long tail renders a conspicuous feature. 



The Pied Wagtail (Motacilla Yarrellit, Fig. 233), which is generally' 

 distributed in England, seems until lately to have been confused 



Fig. 232. The Stone-chat. 



with the White Wagtail (Motacilla alba}. In form and proportion the 

 two species closely resemble each other,, the Pied Wagtail being the 

 smaller. Mr. Gould states, in the " Magazine of Natural History," 

 that while preparing his work on the birds of Europe he was surprised 

 to find that the sprightly Pied Wagtail, so common in Britain at all 

 seasons, could not be referred to any described species, and that its 

 habitat was limited to the British Islands, Norway, and Sweden. 

 The true Motacilla alba of Linnaeus, on the other hand, is abundant 

 in France, particularly in the neighbourhood of Calais, but has 

 never been discovered on the opposite Kentish coast. 



The Quaketails (Motacilla flava, Fig. 234) form the transition 



