PIED WAGTAIL. 423 



the wing, alighting again on the ground with a sylph-like 

 buoyancy, and a graceful fanning motion of the tail, 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 shal- 

 low water, seeking for various aquatic insects, or their 

 larvae ; and a portion of a letter sent me lately by Wil- 

 liam Rayner, Esq., 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 insects, has some 

 influence in 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 on minnows which were in 

 a 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 wari- 

 ness and cunning of some Blackbirds and Thrushes in 

 watching the Wagtails catch the minnows, and immedi- 

 ately seizing the prize for their own dinner." 



The nest of our Pied Wagtail is formed of moss, dead 

 grass, and fibrous roots lined with hair and a few fea- 

 thers ; the nest is sometimes placed on the ground on a 

 ditch bank, sometimes in a hole of a wall, or thatch of an 

 out-building, and it is frequently fixed in the side of a 

 wood stack, or hay-rick ; occasionally it has been found 

 occupying a cavity in a peat stack, or a wall of turf sod, 

 but always in the vicinity of w r ater. The eggs are four or 

 five in number ; white, speckled with ash-colour, nine 

 lines in length, and seven lines in breadth. 



Mr. Jesse, in his Gleanings in Natural History, re- 

 cords an instance of a Water Wagtail building her nest 



