44 LAKES AND RIVERS. 



throat ; it is reddish-white ; the mark above the eyes 

 is yellowish ; the upper parts of the body of olive- 

 gray, and the lower of a pale yellow. The eggs are 

 very pointed at one end, very wide at the other, and 

 are of a dirty ochreous white, with darker spots ; they 

 .are from four to six in number. 



The Gray-headed Wagtail ( M. flavci) arrives about 

 the middle of April, and is often seen following the 

 plough for the worms and grubs which are turned up. 

 It builds in low, damp situations, seeking a dry tuft 

 or spot in the marshy ground, or by the river-side, on 

 which to place its nest. It sometimes makes its nest 

 in old mole-holes in meadows ; it lays usually six 

 round eggs, of an olive-green with flesh-coloured spots. 



The White Wagtail (M. alba) has the forehead, 

 cheeks, and lower parts pure white ; the back of the 

 head, neck, throat, and breast, the feathers of the 

 middle of the tail, and upper coverts of the tail deep 

 black ; the back and flanks ash ; the coverts of the 

 wings blackish, edged with white ; the two outer 

 feathers of the tail white. The length of the bird is 

 7 inches. In the female the white is less clear, and 

 the black of the head does not cover so large a space, 

 .and the edges of the wings are grayish. The above 

 describes the spring plumage of the sexes. There 

 is a pure white variety (M. albida), also a variety 

 sometimes with black wings and the remainder of the 

 plumage of the ordinary appearance. But the win- 

 ter plumage differs in that the throat and forepart are 

 pure white, with a collar or band of jet-black on each 

 side, bending up to the throat. The ash-coloured 

 parts of the bird are paler than in the summer attire. 



