84 THE WAG-TAIL 



feet, a long tail which they are incessantly wagging, whence 

 the French name of « hoche-qiieuc » (wag-tail) given to 

 them in the province of Lorraine. They are great de- 

 vourers of flies and gnats; but the dish-washer prefers 

 river-flies, whereas the wag-tail has a weakness for large 

 blue-bottle flies. 



The dish-washer is a friend of strands and damp river 

 banks; it likes to haunt mill-dams and the neighbourhood 

 of washing-places. Neither the noise of the mill-wheel, 

 spluttering about its drops of white foam, nor the noise 

 of the washerwomen agitating their beetles, can frighten 

 them. They trip with quick, nimble tread over stones 

 and gravel; they dip their feet into the water and are 

 perpetually wagging their long white and black tails, as 

 if they were trying to imitate the motion of the beetles 

 on the linen. 



These birds emigrate in winter and do not return till 

 the end of March. They build their nest on the ground 

 near hollow river banks, or under stakes of wood built 

 up near the river. Their nest consists of dried grasses 

 and small roots, lined on the inside with feathers and 

 hair; the female Avag-tail lays four oi- five white eggs, 

 covered with brown spots. She is a very good mother, 

 very proud of the neatness of her dwelling, which she 

 keeps most scrupulously clean like a very careful house- 

 keeper. 



\A'hen the bird lings are able to fly, the father and 



