VI. 



WAGTAILS, FLYCATCHERS, SWALLOWS AND 

 OTHER INSECT-EATERS. 



Pied wagtails never entirely desert us, 

 though, of course, there are many more, and 

 they are much more in evidence, in summer 

 than in winter. It is a continual pleasure to 

 watch them, to see the speed with which they 

 run in pursuit of a fly, the deftness of the 

 capture, and the satisfaction so plainly 

 displayed at the feat, by the eloquent balanc- 

 ing of the long tail. One day in August 

 (1899) I watched a wagtail through a glass, 

 and distinctly saw him capture and devour 

 four " daddy-long legs " in succession. 

 Besides running after them on the ground, 

 they will often fly up at insects in the air. 



Pied wagtails are no respecters of persons 

 as far as other birds are concerned; I have 

 seen a single wagtail at one time pursuing a 

 peewit, at another a sandpiper, and their 

 encounters with swallows on the grass are 

 most amusing to watch. When the swallows 

 are flying low the wagtails will deliberately 

 fly at them and even for a little way after 

 them. 



A family of pied wagtails usually take 

 possession of the lawn opposite one of our 

 windows, and we can observe the process of 

 education in the art of catching flies, from the 



