MOTACILLID.K — TriK WAOTAIIA Hyj 



■wlirri! it iicsts (in llii' j^nmiiil in tiic (MjnilioUls, in oikmi fiulds, nii'iulows, and 

 )uiii<lst till- .stiindinLi; uiuin. It lays iVoni inur to six c.^^s, ol' u lin»\\nisli-yul- 

 knv on ii riMldisli-wliito <4ruMU(l, piofiisfly cnvcrcd witii finu dots of reddisli- 

 grny. ■wiiicli aro more or less confluent. A i'vw ziyzag lines of dark brown 

 or lilaciv an! found on tiie larger end. Tliiiy measure X>'.'> of an inch in length 

 and ..").') in breadth. Its food is tlie.s, moths, small green eaterpillars, and 

 atjuatic insects. 



Uay's Wagtail, recognized by some autl )rs as a distinct s])eeies, is proba- 

 bly only an insular race, eliietly fouml in tlie Uritish Islands and in Western 

 France. In the latti-r place Ixith birds occur, and here also they have been 

 known to mate the (uie with the other. Tlieir nests and eggs are .so alike 

 as not to l)e distinguishable. Tiie former are constructed of line fibnais 

 roots and tine stems of grasses, and are lined with hair. 



These bii'ds are remarkably social, collecting in small Hocks soon after 

 leaving their nests, and until their autumnal migrations following the older 

 birds in (piest of food. Tliey have two call-notes which are (juite shrill, and 

 are repeated in succession, the .second being lower in tone. Xo mention is 

 made by the naturalists of the Telegraph Expedition of their having any song 

 other than these notes. 



Mr. Uannistcr first observed thi.s species at St. Michael's, on tiie 0th or lOth 

 of June, and from that time until late in August they M-ere among the mo.st 

 abundant of the land-birds. During the month of June he observed them 

 in flocks of twenty or thirty individuals. It seemed to be a rather shy bird. 

 He described its fligiit as like that of our common (ioldfincli, rising with a 

 few strokes of its wings, then closing them ,'uid describing a sort of parabo- 

 loidal curve in the air. Tlu^ only note wiiieh he heard and identified as 

 uttered by this species was a kind of faint chirp, hardly to be called a song. 

 These l)irds seenu'd to prefer the open country, and were rarely observed in 

 the low brush, the only approach to woods found on the island. 



SfmwMiiv ANTHINiE. 



The characters of this sul)fainily liave already been detailed. The Ameri- 

 can sections may be defined as follows, although Avhether entitled to rank as 

 genera may be ipiestioned : — 



Common Cu.\r.\cti:i!S. Tail (li'i'iilcilly shorter thiin the wiiijj-s; fes;.-; than hatrtiii; 

 whole fcULjih of hird ; .•^iiuply cniiiriiiiialc and rouiidcd. Hind claw loii<;thon('(l ; 

 only slijihtly curved. Feath(M-s of liack with ])alor cdfjes ; Inrast .streaked with 

 du.sl<y. Nest on tlie pi'ound ; 0!ri;s i'/nely mottled so as almost to be tniilorm dark 

 brown (hi North American species). 



a. Wiiii/s iiinrh puiiitcil. (iml li'iii/llifucd. 

 Point of winpr formed by four onti'r primaries, of wliich tiie fourth some- 

 times a little sh uler than the third. Hind toe and claw as lon^- as middle, 

 shorter than tarsns, the claw alone usnally a little lonprer than the toe itself, 



