PERCHING BIRDS. 89 



the true yellow, or Ray's wagtail, which by Cuvier was 

 removed into another genus, and called Budytes, but 

 which in Orr's edition of Cuvier (1849) is stated to be 

 the M. neglecta of Gould, although previously known as 

 M. flava of Linnaeus. 



According to the most recent arrangement they there- 

 fore stand thus : Pied wagtail (Motacilla Yarrelli, 

 Gould), White wagtail (M. alba, Linn.), Grey wagtail 

 (M. boarula, Linn,), Grey-headed wagtail (M. neglecta, 

 Gould), Yellow wagtail (M. flava, Linn.). All these 

 five I am convinced are clearly distinct species, and I 

 have met with all of them in my own neighbourhood ; 

 even the rarer ones more than once, and under favourable 

 circumstances for recognition and identification. 



The Pied Wagtail (M. Yarrelli, Gould) is by far the 

 most abundant of the family. Some of them remain 

 with us all the year, but it is in spring and summer that 

 they are met with in the greatest numbers. Their elegant 

 form and active habits are very pleasing, and all their 

 motions are marked by an airy gracefulness. During 

 the winter they frequent the neighbourhood of houses, 

 and I have often seen them busily employed in searching 

 the roads and gutters. 



They are very hardy, being far less affected by cold 

 than many other birds who are apparently better able to 

 bear it. On Feb. 17, 1855, during a severe frost, with 

 the thermometer standing at 22 at the time, I watched 

 with much interest one of these birds bathing in a 

 shallow and rapid part of the stream running through 

 the village, a few yards below the mill. It walked in as 

 far as it could, and then with great energy dipped in its 

 head and threw the water over its back several times, 

 and with such evident enjoyment that you might have 



