MoTACILLUKK — Tin: WACJTAILS. H](J 



wlirrc it ii(">;ts (•!» the ^inund in the (.'orntioMs, in ojtcn ti(,'l«ls, meadows, antl 

 aniiil.i the .stan«lini4: uiain. It lays from lour to six cj^gs, of a l>ro\vnish-\H'l- 

 l<»\v on a rcdtlisli-whito ground, protustdy covered with tine dots of reildisli- 

 gray. wiiicli art^ more or h?ss eonthient. A few zigzag liiu's oi' (hirk hrown 

 or hlaek are found on tlie hirger end. They measure .♦l."'* of ar inch in h'ngtli 

 and .."»,"» in ])nadtli. It.s food is tlies, moths, small green caterpiUars, and 

 a«[uatic insects. 



Hay's Wagtail, recognized hy some auth(»rs as a distinct sj)ecie.s, is proba- 

 hly only an insular race, chiefly found in the liritish Lshmds and in Western 

 -bVanct;. in the latter place hoth l>irds occur, and here also they have been 

 known to matt; the one with the other. Their nests and eggs are so alike 

 as not to be distinguishable. The former are constructe(l of tine fibrous 

 ro(»ts and tine stems of grasses, and are lined with hair. 



Th 'se birds are remarkably social, collecting in small flocks soon after 

 leaving their nests, and until their autumnal migrations following the older 

 birds in (pie.st of food. They have two call-notes which are (piite shrill, and 

 are repeated in succession, the second being lower in tone. Xo menti<jn is 

 made by the naturalists of the Telegraph Ext>editi(>n of their having any song 

 other than these notes. 



Mr. liannister first observed this species at St. Miciiael's, on the 9th or lOth 

 of June, and from that time until late in August they were among the most 

 abundant of the land-l>irds. l)uring the month of June he observed them 

 in flocks of twenty or thirty individuals. It seemed to be a ratli ,'r shy bird. 

 He described its flight as like that of our common (loldfinch, rising with a 

 few strokes of its wings, then closing them and describing a sort of paral>o- 

 loidal curve in tlie air. The only note wliich he hoard and identified as 

 uttered by this vSpecies was a kind of faint chirp, hardly to be called a song. 

 These birds seemed to prefer the open country, and were rarely observed in 

 the low brush, the only ai)i>roacli to woods found on the island. 



SUIJFAMILY ANTHINiE. 



The characters of this subfamily have already been detailed. The Ameri- 

 can sections mav be defined as follows, although whether entitled to rank as 

 genera may be (tuestioned : — 



Common Characters. Tail deoidodly shorter than the wiuirj;: less than half the 

 vhole lonirth of bird; simply eniaririnate and rouuiknl. Hind claw lenirthened ; 

 onl}' shghtly curved. Feathers of back with paler edges ; l»reast streaked with 

 dnsky. Nest on the ground ; ecrgs finely nmttled so as almost to be unilbrm dark 

 brown (hi North American species). 



a. Whifj-'i iyi'ich pointed, niiff /enr/fJiened. 



Point of winir formed by four outer |>riniaries, of whiih the fourth some- 

 times a little .shorter than the third. Hind toe and claw as long os middle, 

 shorter than tarsus, the claw alone usually a little longer than the toe itself, 

 22 



