GREY WAGTAIL 



WINTER WAGTAIL YELLOW WAGTAIL. 



PLATE LXV. 



Motacilla melanope % ..... PALLAS. 

 Motacilla sulphured, BECHSTEIN. 



THIS species, though called the Grey Wagtail, is readily 

 distinguished by its greenish yellow tints and exceedingly 

 long tail. In England it breeds readily in the south-western 

 counties, and in the British Islands, generally where rapid 

 streams are found. 



The nest is generally placed on the ground, among 

 grass or stones, in the hollow of a bank or rock, usually 

 near the border of a stream, but not always, for it has some- 

 times been met with at a distance from water. One pair 

 has been known to build in a spout, and the following year 

 on a shelf in an outhouse, to which a broken pane of glass 

 gave them ingress ; and again, on the window-sill of a 

 dairy, near the previous one. Another pair built their nest 

 between the " switches " of a railway, within two or three 

 inches of every train that passed. It is formed of small 

 fibres and roots, moss and grass, and is lined with wool, 

 hair, or feathers. 



