

WHITE WAGTAIL. Motacilla alba. 



snowy white of the sides of the face and the white patch on the sides of the neck. The 

 upper tail-coverts, and the coverts of the wings are also black. The quill-feathers of the 

 wings are black, edged on the outer web with a lighter hue. The two exterior feathers- 

 of the tail are pure white, edged on the inner web with white, and the remainder jetty 

 black. The under parts of the body are greyish white, taking a blue tint upon the flanks. 

 The entire length of the bird is between seven and eight inches. 



This is the summer plumage of the male bird. In the winter the chin and throat 

 exchange their jetty hue for a pure white, leaving only a collar of black round the throat. 

 The female much resembles her mate in the general colouring of her plumage, but is 

 about half an inch shorter. 



As the WHITE WAGTAIL has often been confounded with the preceding species, I have 

 thought that a figure of each species would be advisable in the present work. According 

 to Mr. Gould, who first determined the characteristics between the two species, they may 

 be distinguished from each other by the following marks of difference. 



" The pied Wagtail of England, Motacilla Yarrellii, is somewhat more robust in form, 

 and in its full summer dress has the whole of the head, chest, and neck of a full deep jet 

 black ; while in the White Wagtail, Motacilla alba, at the same period, the throat and 

 head alone are of this colour ; the back and the rest of the upper surface being of a light 

 ash grey. In winter the two species more nearly assimilate in their colouring, and this 

 circumstance has doubtless been the cause of their being hitherto considered as identical ; 

 the black back of M. Yarrellii being grey at this season, although never so light as 

 M. alha. An additional evidence of their being distinct (and which has doubtless 

 contributed to the confusion) is, that the female of our pied Wagtail never has the beak 

 black as in the male ; this part, even in summer, being dark grey, in which respect 

 it closely resembles the other species." Another distinction may be found in the shape of 

 the beak, which is broader in the White than in the pied species. 



The White Wagtail is very common in France, and the southern parts of Europe; but 

 although it may be found plentifully on the shores of Calais, the narrow arm of sea 

 appears to be a boundary which it seldom passes. 



The GREY WAGTAIL is a remarkably pretty and elegant example of this group of 

 birds ; its plumage being delicately marked with various soft colouring, its shape slender 

 and graceful, and its movements light and airy. 



