58 MOTACILLDOE. 



centre of the stirring streets of the metropolis, it is a well- 

 known species, and a favourite with all classes, perhaps from 

 the apparent independence of its motions on the ground, or 

 its pugnacity when occasionally intruded upon by any unin- 

 tentional feathered interloper. 



This wagtail is one of those lively and cleanly-plumaged 

 birds which has ever found favour in our sight. Whe- 

 ther observed when quietly wagging upon some projecting 

 stone by the river side, and uttering its brief attempt at a 

 song, or when gracefully attending upon the footsteps of 

 cattle, spreading out its fan -shaped tail, and flying upwards 

 for a few feet, in active pursuit of those insects disturbed from 

 the earth by the motion of the cattle. During winter it be- 

 comes more permanent in its relations with the city, and 

 frequents stables and outhouses, or those yards or locali- 

 ties where it can glean subsistence during the rigour of the 

 season. 



With the usual fate of a bad architect, the nest is a clumsy 

 structure, and is usually placed in the interstices of an old 

 stone or ivy-clad wall. The eggs are greyish -white, mottled 

 with brown, and bear a close resemblance to those of the 

 house-sparrow. When discovered, they are generally allowed 

 to remain in safety, as a curious belief amongst children pro- 

 tects them and their parent from their all-appropriating 

 grasp, the u uncanny" motion of the tail having gained it the 

 rather dubious appellation of devil's bird. 



Indigenous. 



SPECIES 58 THE GRAY WAGTAIL. 



Motacilla boarula. Linn. 

 Bergeronnette jaune ou boarule. Temm. 



Yellow Wagtail. 



THIS beautiful wagtail occurs in similar localities as the pre- 

 ceding ; perhaps giving the preference to retired mountain 

 streams, and often found in solitary situations where the pied 

 species would not be observed at any season. 



More graceful in form than that bird, it is undoubtedly 

 more beautiful in plumage. The bright Indian yellow of the 

 breast, and its gorget of deepest black, with the light bluish- 

 grey of the upper parts, combine to render the male, in his 

 wedding dress, the most elegant of his species, whilst the 

 eternally moving parti-coloured tail secures for him the title 

 of " most dainty bridegroom." 



Along the banks of the Dodder the gray wagtail is con- 



