BY LAKES AND STREAMS. 131 



portion, finer grass and often a few hairs complete 

 the lining. The four or five eggs are dirty white 

 in ground colour, thickly mottled with yellowish 

 brown, and occasionally with a few hair-like 

 scratches of dark brown. Few nests are so 

 simple as the Sedge Bird's. Both these birds 

 begin their southern migration in September ; 

 but as they are of such skulking habits, and 

 are then almost silent, it is often difficult to state 

 the exact time of their departure. 



The dainty little PIED WAGTAIL (Motacilla widely 

 yarrellii) is another bird we are sure to meet distributed 

 with by the waterside, summer and winter alike, 

 although, be it remarked, this species is often 

 met with far from the pond or stream, on the 

 open fallows, especially in spring. It is very 

 fond of frequenting the streams and rivers that 

 flow through the meadows, and is often met with 

 by the side of the cattle-pond in the pastures. 

 You cannot well mistake him in his black and 

 white dress as he runs daintily about the bank, 

 or trips to and fro among the feeding cattle and 

 horses, beating his tail rapidly up and down, 

 and taking little flights before us as we advance, 

 uttering his cheery chiz-zit as he rises, and oft 

 repeating it at every dip of his undulatory course. 

 Many Pied Wagtails appear to leave this country 

 in autumn, especially from the more northern 

 districts, and return in spring ; at both seasons 

 they may be seen in parties, and during the 

 winter in most localities they are perceptibly 

 rarer than in summer. The Pied Wagtail 

 possesses a sweet and varied song, but its 

 drawbacks are its shortness and the fitfulness 

 of its utterance. Sometimes during spring we 



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