Bird Observations 



August 28th. Aschi. Wagtails. Saw 

 about a dozen running about on the low 

 roof of a chalet in a meadow, flying down 

 to the meadow occasionally, but mostly 

 sunning and preening themselves on the 

 roof. One was evidently the pied, or the 

 continental form, motacilla alba. In the 

 one I saw at Grindelwald the breast seemed 

 to have the black end in this shape \^/ 

 at the bottom, not as in the picture. WV 

 The other wagtails were young pieds or 

 the yellow, which ? They answered to the 

 description in Hudson "top of head, lore, 

 nape, back and scapulars greenish olive, 

 bright yellow streak over the eye, lower 

 parts sulphur yellow T ," except that they did 

 not seem as brightly colored as that, and 

 they had a noticeable grey spot, rather 

 large, on the breast, the coloring about the 

 throat, sides of head, etc., was quite yel- 

 lowish, outer tail feathers white. Wag- 

 tails do not carry their tails as high as our 

 water thrushes, drag them more, but the 

 motion is otherwise quite similar. Were 

 these birds motacilla rayii or flava (Euro- 

 pean form of yellow), or young of lugu- 

 brir? Watched them a long time in excel- 

 lent light. 



August 2gth. Saw three wagtails this 



