516 WHITE WAGTAIL. 



feathers are black, with the exception of the ex- 

 terior one on each side, which has the outer web 

 entirely, and the middle part of the inner web, 

 white : legs black. The female is dusky where 

 the male is black, and >the rump and back incline 

 more to cinereous. The young have no black on 

 the throat till the returning spring, but about the 

 beginning of March they obtain it : in the autumn 

 the black feathers, on the chin and throat of the 

 old birds, fall off, and are replaced by white ones, 

 leaving only a black crescent-shaped patch on the 

 breast. Dr. Latham mentions having seen a va- 

 riety white, except on the hind parts, which were 

 yellowish : he also describes a bird which came 

 from Lu^onia, which differs in few particulars 

 from the first described, as it has the throat and a 

 band on the wings white, and the black on the 

 breast joins that of the hind part of the neck, and 

 forms a collar of that colour : in other respects it 

 is nearly similar. 



The est of the Water-wagtail, or as it is called 

 in many parts Dish-washer, or Washerwoman, is 

 placed either amongst a heap of stones, in the 

 hole of a wall, or on the top of a pollard tree ; it 

 is composed of moss, dry grass, and fibrous roots, 

 woven together with wool, and lined with feathers 

 or hair : the female lays four or five eggs, which 

 exactly resemble those of the Cuckow ; they are 

 white, spotted with light brown and ash : the 

 parent birds are very attentive to their young, 

 and continue to feed them for three or four weeks 

 after they are able to fly ; they will defend them 



