YELLOW WAGTAIL. 213 



its bird-life of a meadow amongst the Dutch dykes, except that in the 

 former the commonest bird is the Yellow Wagtail, and in the latter the 

 Blue-headed Wagtail. The Yellow Wagtail is the island form of the Blue- 

 headed Wagtail ; but unfortunately the hypothesis which seems to explain 

 the relative positions of the Pied and White Wagtails will not account for 

 the existence of the Yellow Wagtail in Britain. The Yellow Wagtail is 

 an eastern bird; its geographical distribution, like that of the White 

 Wagtail, presents the anomaly of a discontinuous area. The true home 

 of the Yellow Wagtail is in the basin of the Caspian Sea, and the 

 colony in Great Britain appears to be comparatively small and isolated. 

 Two explanations of this remarkable geographical distribution present 

 themselves. So far as is known, the birds from both districts winter only 

 in Africa, south of the Great Desert. From this vast winter home of so 

 many Palaearctic birds it is well known that there are two great streams of 

 migration, one reaching Great Britain and the other Central Asia. It is 

 possible that, in some distant age, a large body of Yellow Wagtails took 

 the western instead of the eastern line of migration, and finding a suitable 

 breeding- ground in the British Islands, returned thither every succeeding 

 year : or we may imagine that an emigration of Yellow Wagtails from Tur- 

 kestan, similar to the great emigration of Pallas's Sand-Grouse from the 

 same district in 1863, reached our islands before the Blue-headed Wag- 

 tail had crossed the Channel in any numbers. The latter theory is 

 supported by the fact that even at the present time stragglers occur on 

 this route, and occasionally are captured on the island of Borkum, as well 

 as on Heligoland. 



This common and graceful little bird is one of the first to make its 

 appearance in spring. It arrives early in March in England, but does not 

 appear to reach its Scotch haunts before April. The Wagtails yield the 

 palm of gracefulness to none of the feathered tribes, and the present 

 species is one of the most graceful. Its active sylph-like movements 

 and its delicate form and lovely plumage make it a general favourite. 

 It is found in well-cultivated districts, in pastures, open downs, 

 sheep-walks, and commons. Early in the year, immediately after its 

 arrival, it often frequents the open country near the sea on the low- 

 lying coasts ; but the locality in which it may always be found at this 

 season is the fields where spring sowing is going on. From this fact 

 observant countrymen have given it the local name of " Seed-bird;" and 

 in Scotland it is known by the name of " Seed Lady." 



The Yellow Wagtail is fond of associating with cattle. In summer 

 almost every field, in its accustomed haunts, where cattle are grazing, is 

 tenanted by a pair of these birds. They daintily run amongst the grazing 

 animals, round their legs, under their bellies, and often within a few inches 

 of their mouths, all the time searching busily for the insects which are so 



