350 SUMMER. 



to those that are diffused over the country in the early 

 spring, there is little doubt that a great number of 

 them go to warmer climates in the autumn. Wagtails 

 moult both in the autumn and in the spring ; and 

 there are some differences in the two changes of plu- 

 mage. In autumn the black is wanting upon the 

 throat and breast, and that upon the back of the male 

 has a greyish tint all over, so that at that season, and 

 until the spring moult, the colours of the two sexes are 

 nearly the same. 



The grey wagtail (motacilla boarula), is a still more 

 handsome bird than the pied wagtail. Its annual mi- 

 grations are within the island, it being a winter bird 

 in the south of England, and a summer one in the 

 north of that country, and in Scotland. The upper 

 part is bluish grey, and the under part, with the 

 exception of the throat, which is bluish yellow, bright 

 every where, but richer on the breast and belly than 

 the rump. The wings are black, with white margins 

 on the quills, and white tips on the covers. The tail is 

 very long for the size of the bird, and has an entirely 

 white feather at each side. 



While the grey wagtail remains in the breeding dis- 

 tricts, in which alone it is a summer bird, it is exceed- 

 ingly active, as it generally rears two broods between 

 the time of its arrival in March and the month of Sep- 

 tember. The shelves of the rocky banks of rivers are 

 its favourite places for nesting. The nest is made of 

 moss and grass, lined with hair, wool, and sometimes 

 feathers ; the eggs are usually about six, of yellowish 

 grey colour, mottled with blotches of a deeper shade 

 of the same. In activity in hunting for flies and other 



