WAGTAILS. 



551 



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 stand- 

 ing or walking, which their long tail renders a conspicuous 

 feature. 



The Pied Wagtail (Motadlla cinerea, Gmelin), Fig. 253, which 

 is generally distributed in England, seems to have been con- 

 founded with the White Wagtail (Motadlla alba, Linn.) by natu- 

 ralists until both species were examined by Mr. Gould. In form 



Fig. 254. Quaketails (Motacilla flava, Temm.). 



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 Wag- 

 tail, so common in our island 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 Motadlla alba 

 of Linnaeus, on the other hand, is abundant in France, particu- 

 larly in the neighbourhood of Calais, but has never been dis- 

 covered on the opposite Kentish coast. 



The QUAKETAILS (Budytes, Cuv.), Fig. 254, form the transition 

 from the Pipits to the Wagtails, but incline more to the latter. 



