58 FAMILIAR WILL BIRDS. 



met with in India, Java, and Japan. In our own country 

 it is fairly distributed over most parts, with the ex- 

 ception of the extreme northern counties. 



The Grey Wagtail is of a retiring and solitary dis- 

 position, seldom being seen except singly or at most in 

 pairs, and apparently eschewing altogether the society of 

 other birds. Its favourite haunts are the sides of running 

 streams, ditches, quarries containing water, ponds and 

 pools, or in fact at any piece of water, if only in a tub; 

 although like other wagtails it may now and then be 

 seen running quickly along the top of some shed or farm 

 outhouse in pursuit of flies or small insects. The food 

 consists of insects, very small water-snails, and the various 

 sorts of minute living creatures that abound on the margins 

 of watery places in general. 



The flight of the Grey Wagtail is similar to that of the 

 other members of the family, being light, tolerably fast, 

 and composed of a series of rapid and graceful undulations. 

 The note is not very strong, and may be described as a 

 shrill " tweet tweet/' which is repeated in a louder key, 

 and more frequently when the bird is suddenly disturbed 

 and takes to flight. Under any circumstances, however, 

 it seldom flies to any great distance, hut soon returns to 

 the waterside as before. 



Its favourite nesting place is amongst the grass, 

 or stones, or hollows in banks, and in most cases pretty 

 near the sides of a stream. Instances, however, are upon 

 record of this bird selecting very different homes, such as a 

 greenhouse (passing to and fro through a broken square of 

 glass) or a window-sill ; and Morris mentions a case in which 

 the nest was built between some railway switches, within 

 close proximity of passing trains. The nest is constructed 



