11 



MOTACILLIN^!. 



MOTACILLIN^E. 



I on the opposite ihom of Kent, or in any part of England. 

 A* therefore our bird, which hu always been considered u identical 

 with the M. alba, proves to be a distinct species, I have named it after 

 my friend W. Yarrell, Esq., aa a just tribute to his varied acquirementa 

 M a naturalist" 



Mr. Gould then proceeds to point out the characters by which these 

 two species, aa he terms them, may be readily distinguished. The 

 Pied Wagtail of England, he observes, M. Yarrrllii, is somewhat more 

 robust in form, and in iU full summer dress bus the whole of the head, 

 cheat, and back of a full deep jet-black ; while in the White Wagtail, 

 AT alba, at the same period, the throat and the head alone are of this 

 colour, the back and the rest of the upper surface being of a light 

 ash-gray. In winter, he remarks, the two species more nearly assimi- 

 late in their colouring ; and this circumstance has, in his opinion, been 

 the cause of their having been hitherto considered identical ; the black 

 back of if. Yarrrllii being gray at this season, although never BO light 

 u in AT. alba. Additional evidence of their being distinct is, he adds, 

 that the female of our Pied Wagtail never has the back black, as in 

 the male ; this part even in summer being dark -gray, in which respect 

 it closely resembles the other species. This colouring of the female, 

 Mr. Qould observes, has doubtless contributed to the confusion. 



Mr. Yarrell, although he concurs in opinion with Mr. Qould, that 

 these birds are distinct, gives figures and descriptions of both birds in 

 their summer and winter plumage to invite investigation to the 

 subject; and he quotes the Supplement of Temminck's ' Manual,' 

 in which that ornithologist refers to Mr. Gould's figure in the ' Birds 

 of Europe,' and also to that in Werner's Atlas of Illustrations to the 

 ' Manual,' which, Mr. Yarrell says, although there called AfolaciUa 

 luynl'i-it, U certainly our Pied Wagtail, as representations of varieties 

 of Motacilla alba. Prince Bonaparte, he remarks, has considered our 

 Pied Wagtail to be distinct from M. alba, and has admitted it as a 

 species in his ' Geographical and Comparative List of the Birds of 

 Europe and North America.' (' British Birds,' 1838.) 



M. Temminck, in the fourth part of his 'Manual' (1840), states, 

 under the head of Motacilla Yarrellii (Bonap.), that recent observa- 

 tions upon this black variety, and his certainty that it forms a constant 

 race habitually found in England, where the continental 31. alba is 

 never seen, determine him to arrange it aa a local variety or race, 

 which he characterises as having the wings of a complete black, and 

 all the coverts bordered with pure white. He also details the summer 

 and winter plumage. 



Belou thinks that the M. alba of the continent is the Kvnro\Ayos 

 of Aristotle. (' Hist. Anim.,' viii. 8.) It is the Cotremola, Codetta, 

 Codetta di Pecore, Ballarina, Monachina, and Cuttretolo, of the 

 Italians ; Lavandiereof the French ; Die Weisse Bachstelzc and Weiss 

 und Schwartz* Bachstelze of the Germans ; Aria of the Swedes ; Vip- 

 stiert and Havre-Steer of the Danes ; Erie and Lin-Erie of the Nor- 

 wegians ; Kwikttaart of the Netherlonders ; Brith y Fyches and 

 Tinsigl y G wys (probably our Pied variety only) of the Welsh ; and (our 

 Pied variety) Uish-Washer and Washerwoman of the English. 



The figure in Belon's folio work, as well as that in the ' Portraits 

 d'Oyseaux,' evidently refers to the continental variety. The French 

 names which are placed over the figure in the last-named book arc, 

 Lavandifere, Battcqueue, Battflesiue, and Haussequeue. Below it is 

 the following quatrain : 



" La Lmtnaitre hinte le bord de 1'can, 

 Hocbant tnusior* la queue rt le derm-re, 

 Nr pliu ny molna que fait la lavandiere 

 Larant son llngc auprcn d'un clair ruUeeau." 



Speaking of its habits, Mr. Yarrell says, " It is ever in motion, 

 running with facility by a rapid succession of steps in pursuit of its 

 hired food, moving from place to place by short undulating flights, 

 uttering a cheerful chirping note while on the wing, alighting again 

 on the ground with a sylph-like buoyancy, and a graceful fanning 

 motion of the toil, from which it derives its name. It frequents the 

 vicinity of ponds and streams, moist pastures, and the grass-plots of 

 pleasure-grounds ; may be frequently seen wading in shallow water, 

 seeking for various aquatic inwcts or their larva; : and a portion of a 

 letter sent me lately by W. lUyner, Eq., of Uxbridge, who keeps a 

 variety of birds in a large aviary near his parlour window, for the 

 pleasure of observing their habits, seems to prove that partiality to 

 other prey, besides aquatic insect*, has some influence on the constant 

 visits of Wagtails to water: ' I had also during the summer and 

 autumn of 1837 several Wagtails, the Pied and Yellow, both of which 

 were very expert in catching. and feeding ou minnows which were in 

 fountain in the centre of the aviary. These birds hover over the 

 water, and, as they skim the surface, catch the minnow as it approaches 

 the top of the water in the most dexterous manner; and I was much 

 surprised at the wariness and cunning of some Blackbirds and Thrushes, 

 in watching the Wagtails catch the minnows, and immediately seizing 

 the prize for their own dinner.' " 



The neat of the British Pied Wagtail is made up of root-fibres, 

 withered grasn, and mow; the lining consiats of hair and a few 

 feather*. A bank, a bole in some old wall, the thatch of a cart-shed 

 or other farm-building, faggot-piles or woodstacka, and hayricks, are 

 all localities where it is generally placed, and almost always near 

 water; but Mr. Jewe mentions in hi 'Gleanings' the not of a 



Water- Wagtail in one of the workshops of a manufactory at Taunton, 

 amid the incessant din of braziers who occupied the apartment. It 

 was built near the wheel of a lathe which revolved within a foot of 

 it, and here the bird hatched four young ones. She was perfectly 

 familiar with the well-known faces of the workmen, and flew in and 

 out without fear of them ; but if a stranger entered, or any other 

 persons belonging to the same factory, but not to what may bs called 

 her shop, she quitted her nest instantly, and returned not till they 

 were gone. The male however had less confidence, and would not 

 come into the room, but brought the usual supplies of food to a 

 certain spot on the roof, whence it was brought into the nest by bis 

 mate. ( The eggs ore from four to five, white with ash-coloured 

 speckles. 



" While the cows are feeding," says White, " in the moist low 

 pastures, broods of wagtails, white and gray, run round them, close 

 up to their noses, and under their very bellies, availing themselves of 

 the flies that settle on their legs, and probably finding worms and 

 larva; that are roused by the trampling of .their feet Nature is such 

 an economist, that the most incongruous animals can avail themselves 

 of each other ! Interest makes strange friendships.' 



The habits of the Continental MotocUlo. alba are similar to those 

 of our Pied variety. 



The British species figured and described by Yarrell are four in 

 number : The Pied Wagtail (M.alba ; M. Yarrellii, Bonap. and Gould) ; 

 the Gray Wagtail (M. loarula) ; the Gray-Headed Wagtail (M. negUcta, 

 Gould ; M. Jlara, Temm. ; Budyla of Prince Bonaparte's ' Compara- 

 tive List'); and Ray's Wagtail (Yellow-Wagtail of Pennant; lliidytn 

 Rayi of the Prince's ',Comparative List '). 



if. alba, La Bergerouette Qriae, the True or Continental While 

 Wagtail It inhabits Europe ; the high lands of India and Africa. 

 Eggs about six in number, bluish-white spotted with black. Nest very 

 variously placed, in fissures of rocks, in old towers, under arches of 

 bridges, about hollow trees. 



True or Continental White Wagtail (Uvlafill.i alba). 



Enicurta (Temminck). Bill rather strong, lengthened, very straight, 

 abruptly bent and notched; minim straight from the base; gonys 

 thickened, ascending ; rictus bristled ; wings rather short, the three 

 first quills graduated ; tail lengthened, deeply forked ; feet strong ; 

 tarsus lengthened, the scales entire; middle toe shorter than the 

 tarsus, outer toe longest ; legs pale. (Sw.) 



E. ipecionu (Motacilla ipeciota), the Chenginging or Kingking of 

 the Javanese. Crest, lower part of the back, rump, belly, vent, 

 two- exterior tail-feathers entirely, and other tail-feathers at their 

 extremity, a brood band extending obliquely across the wings, 

 and the axilla;, white; head, except the crest, breast, back, and 

 greatest part of wings and tail, black. The white is the purest 

 snow-white ; the black is of different shades, more intense ou the IP ml 

 and breast, having a slight reflection of dark-blue, inclining to purple 

 on the extremity of the wings, tinted with brown. A few minute 

 block plumes bound the crest behind and at the sides, extending to 

 the base of the bill. Three or four of the last secondary feathers with 

 a narrow band of white, but the succession not regular. Plumes of 

 the hypochondria) elongated and delicately villous. Length of body 

 and head 4} inches; of tail 6 inches; of bill, which is black, 1" linen. 

 Tarsi nearly twice as long as the middle toe, pale flesh-coloured with 

 a yellow tint (Horsf.) 



Dr. Horsfield states that this species in its habits and manners 

 resembles several European species of the genus Motacilla. " It is," 

 says he, " found near small rivulets ; in the beds of these, particularly 

 where they abound with rocks and gravel, it is seen running along 



