THE BIRDS OF SHERWOOD FOREST. 



leaves us in March or the beginning of April, in some 

 instances partially attaining the black feathers of the 

 chin. 



I have had the pleasure of meeting with two speci- 

 mens of the Grey-headed Wagtail (M. neglecta, Gould). 

 One was in my own courtyard in the summer of 1855, 

 where I saw it several times during the day. The 

 absence of any yellow on the rump, the darker colour of 

 the legs, and the conspicuous black mark under the chin 

 enabled me readily to distinguish it. The other occurred 

 a few days later, and when I saw it, was busily engaged 

 in feeding by the side of the stream in the village where 

 it is crossed by the bridge, below which the water 

 spreads out over a gravelly bed, and is very shallow. Here 

 it was running nimbly along the edge of the water, and 

 sometimes into it, rapidly seizing small aquatic insects, 

 and twice it flew up and settled on a large stone in the 

 middle of the stream, which was so far below the surface 

 that the little bird looked as if it was swimming ; but it 

 seemed to have no fear of being carried off its legs. I 

 watched its sprightly movements for nearly half-an-hour 

 with great interest, and all the more so from its being a 

 rare species. It often approached within a few yards of 

 the bridge on which I stood, but at length flew away. 

 I have little doubt these were a pair, as from the duller 

 tints of the one I have last mentioned, I conjectured it 

 to be the female. I looked in vain during the summer 

 for their reappearance. 



But if the last two species are somewhat rare, the 



f" Yellow, or Ray's Wagtail (M.^flava, Linn.), is by no 



means so, but is constantly to be found in the meadows 



during the summer. Though not nearly so long as the 



three first named species, yet to my mind it is the 



