106 GARDEN AND AVIARY BIRDS. 



is made near the ground or even on it, in some hole or 

 other, and the eggs are speckled with brown. 



Wagtails are only found in open ground, and are 

 particularly fond of the neighbourhood of water, in 

 which they wade and paddle like Sandpipers. They 

 are most useful as well as ornamental birds, and 

 deserve every protection; they would also be useful 

 birds to acclimatise where insectivorous species are 

 needed, as their diet is so exclusively restricted to 

 insects that they can do no harm at all. 



Wagtails are found nearly all over the Eastern 

 Hemisphere, usually migrating southwards in winter, but 

 none are inhabitants of Australia or New Zealand, and 

 one or two kinds only invade America. Wherever 

 they occur they are common and familiar birds, and 

 generally popular. They are seldom kept in confinement, 

 and are not suited for cage-life, but in an aviary they do 

 very well, being easier to keep than most small insec- 

 tivorous birds. Delicate and fragile as they look, how- 

 ever, they are most savage birds, and it is impossible to 

 keep even two of different species together unless they 

 be cock and hen. In this case, however, they have been 

 known to interbreed in captivity. 



There are good many species of Wagtails in India, 

 mostly winter visitors ; the natives know them generally 

 as Dhobrin, a name which exactly corresponds to the 

 French Lavandiere ; I suppose the wagging of the bird's 

 tail and its fondness for water have suggested a com- 

 parison with the wife of the miscreant who batters 

 clothes. 



