428 PERCHING BIRDS. 



number of eggs, but very often only three are laid, and sometimes as many as five. 

 They may be said to be characteristic larks' eggs, and only differ from those of the 

 skylark by their more olive shade of colour. The ground-colour is a pale greenish 

 or pale brownish white, often so coloured by the profusion of markings as to be 

 scarcely visible. The overlying spots are small and irregular in shape, of an 

 almost neutral brown colour, and nearly conceal the paler and greyer underlying 

 spots." The adult male shore-lark in breeding-plumage has the forehead, and a 

 stripe over each eye, the chin, and upper throat pale yellow ; the crown, and tufts 

 of the head, the lores, and a band across the lower neck are black ; the upper-parts 

 are vinaceous brown, and the under-parts dirty white. The female is similar, 

 but all her colours are duller, a remark which applies to the bird of the year. In 

 winter-plumage the shore-lark lacks the ructdy vinaceous tinting characterising 

 the breeding-plumage. The intensity of the latter is obtained by a change in the 

 actual colour of the feather itself, and is not produced by a moult. The young 

 have the whole of the upper plumage dark brown spotted with dull yellow : the 

 throat being pale yellow streaked with black ; the lower-parts are dull white. 



WAGTAILS AND PIPITS. 

 Family MOTACILLID^E. 



The members of this family are a group of slender-bodied birds, possessing 

 among their common features a slender bill adapted to an insectivorous diet, a 

 wing composed of nine primaries, long slender feet, and a long tail generally about 

 equal in length to the wing. The wagtails are distinguished from the pipits by 

 their proportionate longer tails ; and also by their gay colours, in which yellow 

 usually predominates ; they are migratory, and perform long and arduous journeys 

 to and from their breeding-grounds. The wagtails and pipits are chiefly 

 inhabitants of the Old World, especially the northern portions of Europe and 

 Asia, being represented in North America by two species found in Alaska, but not 

 in the eastern portions of that Continent. 



. The white wagtail and its congeners are small, elegantly-shaped 



birds ; all in the habit of running over grass in pursuit of insects. 

 The bill is slender, nearly straight, and very slightly notched at the tip ; while the 

 wings are moderate, the first three primaries being about equal and longest, and 

 the inner secondaries very long ; the tail consists of twelve long narrow feathers ; 

 and the metatarsus is long and slender. The white wagtail is found throughout 

 Northern Europe, extending as far East as the Yenesei, and wintering in North 

 Africa ; while an allied species is found in Persia ; a third breeding in Northern 

 China, and wintering in Burma. Seven species of the genus Motacilla are found 

 in South Africa; while no fewer than thirteen visit India during the winter 

 season, at least one of these being a permanent resident in that country. 



The White The white wagtail (M. alba) is a common summer visitor to 



Wagtail. } ie northern and central portions of Europe, delighting in public 



parks and gardens, where it may be seen running at the roadside in pursuit of its 



insect prey. In Portugal its provincial name signifies " washerwoman," the 



