THE GREY WAGTAIL 



lands to the hills that the Grey Wagtail visits the London 

 waters. Its habits are very similar to those of the Pied 

 Wagtail. It runs in the same easy, graceful way, accom- 

 panies its movements with the same beats of the long tail, 

 has the same peculiar dipping flight and a similar call-note 

 during its progress, feeds on insects, larvae, small worms, 

 and seeds, and young and parents keep in parties for long 

 after the former can forage for themselves. Its song is 

 fitful, but of the same twittering character, and the bird 

 frequently perches in trees. It may rear more than one 

 brood in the year, as eggs are found from April to June. 

 The nest is never made far from the waterside, under an 

 overhanging rock or bank or stone, or among tall grass 

 and weeds, sometimes an old stump. It is made of dry 

 grass, roots, and moss, lined with hair and sometimes 

 feathers. The four or five eggs are white, more or less 

 tinged with grey or buff, mottled and speckled with pale 

 brown, and occasionally scratched with dark brown. 



The adult male Grey Wagtail in summer has the upper 

 parts slate-grey, shading into greenish yellow on the rump 

 and upper tail-coverts ; a white stripe extends from the 

 base of the bill behind the eye ; the wings are dark brown, 

 with pale margins, the secondaries with the basal half 

 white. The central tail-feathers are brownish black, with 

 yellowish margins ; the two outer ones are white, the 

 succeeding pair white on the inner web, most of the re- 

 maining portion dull black. A narrow white line extends 

 from the base of the bill down the sides of the throat and 

 upper breast, which are black, and the remaining under 

 parts are bright yellow. Bill black ; tarsi and toes brown ; 

 irides brown. Length 6f inches. The female closely 

 resembles the male in colour, but the black throat is 

 mixed with grey. The nestling closely resembles the 

 adult in autumn plumage, in which the black throat is 

 replaced by white. 



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