7 



10 BIRD GALLERY. 



No. 27. YELLOW WAGTAIL. 



(Motacilla rayi or M. campestris.) 



Ray's Wagtail, as this species is often called, is a regular summer 

 visitor to the British Islands; it arrives early in April and departs in 

 September. During the breeding-season it is generally distributed 

 throughout England and the south of Scotland, extending as far north 

 as Perthshire, while in parts of Ireland it is also fairly common. The 

 nest of moss and dry grass, lined with feathers, hair, and fine roots, is 

 placed on the ground, well concealed among rank grass and herbage. 

 From four to six greyish-white eggs, mottled with yellowish-brown, are 

 laid towards the end of May, and two broods are sometimes reared in 

 a season. 



Norfolk, May. 



Presented by Lord Walsingham, F.R.S. 



No. 28. PIED WAGTAIL. (Motacilla lugubris.) 



During the breeding-season this is a common and generally distributed 

 species throughout the British Islands, but in winter many birds move 

 southwards and a partial migration takes place in autumn and spring. 

 Flies and insects form its principal food, and are caught as it runs 

 swiftly and gracefully over the ground. The nesting-place is very varied, 

 but a cleft in a bank or some hole in a wall or rotten tree are the sites 

 generally selected by the bird. The nest, made of moss, grass and 

 roots, is lined with hair and feathers, and from four to six dull grey 

 eggs, spotted and streaked with ash-brown, are laid towards the 

 end of April. Two broods are frequently reared in a season. The 

 Cuckoo often places her eggs in the nest of this Wagtail. The 

 male bird in the group exhibited is a White Wagtail (M. alba), and 

 affords an interesting example of interbreeding between two allied 



species. 



Norfolk, June. 



Presented by Lord Walsingham, F.R.S. 



No. 29. ROCK-PIPIT. (Anthus obscimis.) 



This shore-frequenting species is common along the coasts of the 

 British Islands, frequenting the more rocky portions during the breeding- 

 season. Its food consists of marine insects, flies, small shells, and 

 Crustacea, which it obtains among the seaweed at low water. The 

 nest, made of dry grasses, is placed in a crevice of the rocks, among a 



