43 o PERCHING BIRDS. 



dusky black, edged with greyish white ; the tail black and white ; the chin and 



throat black : and the lower-parts pure white. 



Yellow-Headed The yellow-headed wagtail (21. e it real a) is a native oi" Siberia 



wagtails. ail j Eastern Russia, wintering in most parts of the Indian Empire, 



and apparently finding its westward summer limits in the valleys of the Petchora 



and Volga. It breeds in Kashmir, where the nests are placed under clods in the 



ploughed fields. The proper home of this beautiful bird is, however, amongst the 



dreary tundras of the far north ; Mr. Seebohm having observed it perching on 



alder-bushes in the neighbourhood of flooded land on the banks of the Petchora. 



There it breeds in June, and its habits resemble those of other yellow wagtails, its 



light dainty form assimilating closely to that of the blue -headed and yellow 



wagtails. The adult male in summer has the entire head and neck deep yellow, as 



are the under-parts ; the upper plumage being ashy grey tinged with bluish. 



The species which haunts the streams and mountain torrents of 

 Grey Wagtail. 



Central Europe is the grey wagtail (M. melanope). A common 



summer visitant and partial resident in the British Isles, shunning the neighbourhood 



of sluggish, turbid rivers, and delighting in tiny cascades and rippling waterfalls, 



the grey wagtail is fond of wading daintily in the shallows of a stream, and 



running over the rocks rising out of the bed. Never found at any distance from 



water, the nest is placed in a variety of situations, often in the recesses of some 



loose stone wall, or mossy shelf of rock overhanging running water ; while a hole 



in a wooden bridge is occasionally selected. Nesting year after year in the same 



place, the grey wagtail is a very early breeder, full complements of eggs being laid 



early in April ; and it breeds twice in a season, the second brood being generally 



fully fledged about the middle of July. The nest is built of dry stems of grass 



and a few roots, usually lined with horsehair ; six eggs being laid in a clutch, 



which are white in ground-colour, suffused with pale brown or olive. The grey 



wagtail has a pretty little song, often uttered from the top of some willow or other 



riverside tree ; the males are very jealous, each choosing his own territory from 



which every intruder is ousted. Even when the first broods of young are already 



fledged, and actively searching for food in company with their parents, the old 



cocks are always on their guard against the possible intrusion of a stranger, whose 



approach is invariably heralded with a challenge to combat. During its migrations 



the grey wagtail visits many low-lying districts far remote from its haunts by 



rocky rivers, occurring near London every winter. This wagtail bears confinement 



well, and has been known to pair with the pied wagtail in captivity and produce 



hybrid young. The adult male in summer has the crown and upper-parts slaty 



grey, the upper tail-coverts greenish yellow, a white stripe passing above the eye 



and another beneath the lore ; the chin and throat are black, and the lower-parts 



bright yellow. In winter the chin and throat are dirty white, the breast dull bufl', 



and the under-parts greyish white tinged with yellow. 



Blue-Headed One of the prettiest of all the wagtails is the blue-headed species 



Wagtails. (3/ flava), well known in most parts of Europe, though but a chance 



summer visitor to the British Islands. In Holland, on the other hand, the present 



species is of general distribution, though most numerous on the banks of streams 



and in the neighbourhood of morasses. Its flight is swift, graceful, and undulating, 



