CHAPTER XIX, 



THE WATER-WAGTAILS, PIPITS 

 AND TITS, 



WHEN I was a boy the Wagtails had a peculiar 

 fascination 

 for me, and 

 the feeling 

 has not quite 

 faded away 

 yet. There 

 is something 

 so original 

 and droll 

 about their 

 idea of life 1 

 To hold a 

 long tail 

 horizontally 

 behind you 

 and wag it 

 v igorously 

 and inces- 

 santly, to 

 spend your 

 days near 

 cool waters, 



Wagtail and Tree Pipit 



running about on the ground not hopping like a spar- 

 row, but running with alternate steps and catching 

 little somethings in the air, this is the Wagtail's 



