THE BIRD-LIFE OF LONDON 



chance attempting to breed. This Wagtail is by far the 

 best known of the five species that nest in the British 

 Islands, and is one of the most lively and graceful of birds. 

 It may not only be seen by the waterside, but running 

 daintily about the market-gardens and suburban fields 

 where tilling work is in progress, or in the pastures where 

 cattle are grazing. It is ever in movement, and its long 

 tail is being almost incessantly beaten up and down, as if to 

 balance the body. It runs lightly over the earth, occa- 

 sionally darting this way or that to snap at a fly, or flutters 

 into the air on a similar quest. If disturbed it flies off 

 in a peculiar dipping way, each dip accompanied by its call- 

 note of chiz-zit. The moment it settles again the long 

 tail is rapidly beaten several times in succession, and then 

 the sylph-like little creature renews its running to and 

 fro. Water is ever an attraction to this Wagtail, the 

 sluggish streams like the Brent and the Mole, the open 

 ditch, beneath the dignity of a name, the stagnant pool 

 in the brickyard, or the horse-pond by the roadside or in 

 the corners of the field, all present rich feeding-grounds 

 for the Pied Wagtail. Its food consists almost exclusively 

 of insects and their larvae, together with small worms and 

 snails. The cock bird has a song, but only utters it at rare 

 and fitful intervals in the love season, and usually when 

 hovering for a moment or so above his mate, less frequently 

 on the ground or from a tree, where, however, he is rarely 

 seen. The song is short, varied, and musical, somewhat 

 resembling the twittering music of the Swallow. The 

 Pied Wagtail is an early breeder, eggs for the first brood 

 being laid in March, and for succeeding broods onwards 

 to June. It is probable that many birds of this species 

 pair for life, as year after year nests may be found in the 

 same spots. The nest, amongst a variety of similar 

 situations, is often made in a hole of a wall, under a clod 

 of clay or a tile, and is a large, cup-shaped structure, 

 formed of dry grass, straws, twigs, moss, or, in fact, almost 

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