THE GREY WAGTAIL 



MOTACILLA SULPHURED 



LOCAL names in surrounding counties : 



STATUS IN BRITISH AVIFAUNA : A somewhat locally and 

 sparingly distributed resident throughout England, Wales, 

 and Ireland ; more commonly dispersed in Scotland. It is 

 subject to considerable local or internal migration, in 

 summer frequenting the moors, mountains, and uplands, 

 in winter the plains and low-lying grounds. 



RADIAL DISTRIBUTION WITHIN FIFTEEN MILES OF ST. 

 PAUL'S : The Grey Wagtail is occasionally met with be- 

 tween autumn and spring in suitable spots well within 

 the inner portions of our radius. From Chelsea upwards 

 it pays irregular visits to the banks of the Thames, and I 

 have a record of it from the filter-beds at Battersea ; 

 another from St. James's Park. I have also seen it on 

 the banks of the Brent between Hanwell and Brentford, 

 as well as on those of the Wandle during winter. It is 

 also a winter wanderer to Kingsbury Reservoir, the Welsh 

 Harp, Hampstead Ponds, Muswell Hill, and the Epping, 

 Wanstead, and Dagenham districts. I have a summer 

 record from the banks of the Beverley Brook at Wimble- 

 don, and I believe the nest was taken at Barnes Common 

 some dozen years ago. Its breeding within the Metro- 

 politan area, however, must be very exceptional, but its 

 casual visits at other times are sufficiently numerous and 

 widely dispersed to call for no very special remark nor 

 record. 



The Grey Wagtail is more addicted to the waterside 

 than any other British species of the group, and always 

 prefers a mountain stream to a lowland one, but in autumn 

 many of the northern waters are deserted, and then the 

 bird appears near rivers and pools in the milder south. 

 It is chiefly during this internal migration from the low- 



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