26 BIRDS OF THE PLAINS 



At the beginning of the cold weather I changed 

 my quarters, so was not able to witness the break-up 

 of the crow family. Probably this did not occur 

 until the following spring, when nesting operations 

 commenced. 



The feeding of the young after they have left the nest 

 and are full-grown is not confined to crows. 



I was walking one morning along a shady lane when 

 I noticed on the grass by the roadside a bird which 

 I did not recognise. It was a small creature, clothed in 

 black and white, which tripped along like a wagtail. It 

 had no tail, but it wagged the hind end of its body just 

 as a sandpiper does. While I was trying to identify 

 this strange creature, a young pied wagtail came running 

 up to it with open mouth, into which the first bird 

 popped something. I then saw that the unknown bird 

 was simply a pied wagtail (Motacilla maderaspatensis) 

 which had lost her tail ! The young bird was fully as 

 large as the mother, and having a respectable tail, which 

 it wagged in a very sedate manner, looked far more 

 imposing. The parts of the plumage which were black 

 in the mother were brownish grey in the young bird. The 

 white eyebrow was not so well defined in the youngster 

 as in the adult, while the former had rather more white 

 in the wing, but as regards size there was nothing to 

 choose between the two. The young bird remained in 

 close attendance on the mother. It was able to keep 

 pace with her as she dashed after a flying insect. It ran 

 after her begging continually for food. The mother 

 swallowed most of the flies she caught, but now and 

 again put one into the mouth of the young bird, but she 



