WAGTAILS. 317 



Length 7 in. ; tail only 2 in. ; general colour black- 

 ish, with a white throat and breast. Female differs little 

 from the male in colour, but is smaller. 

 Remains in Scandinavia throughout the year ; does not 

 appear to breed in the south, but bred near us in South 

 Wermland, and I found the nest up at Quickiock ; eggs six, 

 white; nest sometimes covered. 



Gen. Motacilla, L. 



Tail very long and square; beak straight and thin; second, 

 third, and fourth wing-feathers alike and longest ; one of the 

 secondaries (the seventeenth wing feather) as long or longer 

 than the rest of the wing. Colour always variegated yellow, 

 white, black, green, blue, etc., never lark grey. Are all 

 summer migrants to Scandinavia ; all build on the ground ; 

 nest of grass and horse-hair ; eggs six. 



A. 



Hind claw not longer than the toe, much bent ; tail as 

 long as the rest of the body. 



102. MOTACILLA ALBA, L. Ring Aria. The Continental 



White Wagtail. D. F. 



Length 7 J in. ; tail 2 in. beyond the closed wings ; 



back asli grey ; rump black-grey ; forehead white ; crown 



of the head, neck, and upper part of the breast black, 



under parts white. The external web of the two outer tail 



feathers white; wing coverts with broad white edges. 



The females are always lighter in colour, and sometimes 



the black on the head is altogether wanting, and all the 



upper parts are ash grey. 



This is the breeding plumage in which alone the wag- 

 tails are met with in Scandinavia. In the winter the black is 

 all changed to grey, except a shield over the breast. 



Is very common throughout the country, up to the 

 North Cape. 



Nilsson considers the pied wagtail (M. yarelli, Gould.), 

 which is the common wagtail in Britain, and is distinguished 

 from the M. alba, L. (which is the common wagtail on the 



