180 



KEARTONS' NATURE PICTURES 



From four to six eggs may be found in 

 a clutch. They are greyish white in 



YELLOW WAGTAIL. 



ground colour, spotted and mottled with 

 varying shades of brown. Occasionally 

 specimens marbled with blackish brown 



at the larger end may be met with. The 

 markings are thickly distributed over 

 the entire surface of the shell. It is 

 said to be impossible to distinguish 

 the eggs of this species from those of 

 the Blue-Headed Wagtail, a very much 

 rarer bird so far as the British Islands 

 are concerned. 



The male helps the female to feed the 

 chicks in the nest upon flies and other 

 insects. Both birds nearly always 

 appear to alight at some little distance 

 from the structure and to complete 

 the journey by running. 



The young ones commence to fan 

 with their wee short tails in the way 

 common to the whole family even 

 before they leave the nest. The adult 

 female figured on this page had an 

 abnormally short tail, probably due to 

 some accident. 



During August Yellow Wagtails begin 

 to leave their breeding haunts and fly 

 south, and by the end of September 

 have left the country. 



