MOTACILLID.E. 201 



Family MOTACILLIOE. 



WHITE WAGTAIL, Motacilla alba. An occasion- 

 al summer visitor, but from its close resemblance 

 to the pied wagtail, frequently escapes notice. Mr. 

 Yarrell has enumerated some of their distinctive 

 characters ; the most striking of which, however, 

 is the permanent pearl grey or light ash grey of 

 the whole of the back in the white wagtail, in- 

 cluding the upper tail coverts, which in the pied 

 wagtail are invariably dark. 



PIED WAGTAIL, Motacilla Yarrelli. Page 81. 



GREY WAGTAIL, Motacilla boarula. A regular 

 winter visitor, but very partially distributed. Fre- 

 quents the borders of the clear rivulets on the 

 sandstone formation, and in the vicinity of the 

 Downs. Is very rare in the weald. Departs for 

 the North at an early period of the spring. I 

 once observed a pair of these birds near Woolbed- 

 ing on the 28th of April. The male had partly 

 assumed the black plumage on the throat which is 

 characteristic of the breeding-season. After a 

 patient observation and diligent search, I was un- 

 able to discover a nest, or even symptoms of nidi- 

 fication. On revisiting the spot a few days after- 

 wards both birds had disappeared. 



RAY'S WAGTAIL, Motacilla fiava. Yellow wag- 

 tail Provincial, Barley -bird. Known by the 



K5 



