126 OUR RARER BRITISH BREEDING BIRDS. 



WAGTAIL, YELLOW. 



I THINK of all the spring scenes that dwell in my 

 memory, none are sweeter than the arrival of the 

 Yellow Wagtail in its old breeding-haunt. When 

 the sunshine and showers of April begin to coax 

 forth the buttercups, and the kine are turned out 

 to browse in the meadows of my native Yorkshire 

 dale, down flies a gaily-dressed and cheerful little 

 bird. He loses no time in any kind of useless 

 preliminaries, but commences at once to run about 

 round and between the legs of the cows, taking- 

 short fluttering excursions into the air after flies, 

 or snatching them up from amongst the short 

 green grass. Frequently he will walk up within 

 a few inches of a cow's face, and hawk the insects 

 she shakes from her ears, without being in the 

 least frightened himself, or disconcerting the beast 

 in the smallest degree. They understand each 

 other, for they are old mutual friends and bene- 

 factors. The one attracts the food supply of the 

 other, and the reduction of a pest that tickles 

 ear, eye, and udder all day long is something to 

 make even a mild-eyed cow grateful. 



It breeds in all parts of England (except the 

 extreme west), in Wales, the south of Scotland, 

 and, to a limited extent, in Ireland. I have met 

 with it most numerously in Norfolk, parts of 

 Suffolk, and in the Yorkshire and Westmoreland 

 dales. Although much commoner than the Grey 

 Wagtail, its nest is, according to my experience, 

 more difficult to find. The Yellow Wagtail is a 

 great lover of old haunts, and often resorts to the 

 same fields and pastures, however small, year after 

 year. I have seen its nest, containing both eggs 

 and young, mown out many times in July, and 



