254 INSESSORIjl^. MOTACILLA. Wagtail. 



month. Previous to its departure, it assembles in small flocks 

 or families, which haunt the meadows or bare pastures ; and, 

 at this time, having acquired their winter's plumage, the 

 young and adults closely resemble each other. — In the north 

 of England, and in Scotland, this bird resorts to the margins 

 Food, of clear streams, where it feeds upon the various aquatic in- 

 sects and their larvae. It is very nimble, running rapidly, 

 and frequently wading to the feathered part of the leg in the 

 shallow streams, in pursuit of its prey. It commences nidi- 

 fication very soon after its arrival ; the place selected for that 

 purpose being usually the stony bank, or a shelf of the rocky 

 precipice that so often borders our northern rivers. The 

 Nest, &c. nest is made of moss and dry grasses, lined with hair ; and 

 the eggs, commonly six in number, are of a yellowish-grey, 

 blotched by a darker shade of the same colour. The Grey 

 Wagtail produces two broods in the year ; the first of which 

 is in general fledged by the end of May. Montagu, in his 

 account of this bird, has very properly rectified the mistake 

 of preceding authors, in asserting that the black throat, du- 

 ring the pairing season, is confined to the male. I have in- 

 variably fovmd the female to possess it also at that period ; 

 but of inferior lustre to that of the other sex. Its usual call 

 is shriller than in the other species. It displays great anxiety 

 when its eggs, or the newly-flown young, are dirturbed, and 

 is very vociferous if a hawk, or other enemy, approaches the 

 neighbourhood of the nest. 



Plate 49. Fig. 2. Male bird, in summer plumage, and of 

 the natural size. 

 General Head and upper parts of the body bluish-grey. Rump 

 tkm"'^" bright sulphur-yellow. Above the eyes is a white streak. 



Throat black. Under parts bright gamboge-yellow. 

 Wings greyish-black, the coverts tipped with white. 

 Tail four inches long ; with the outer feather entirely 

 white ; the second white, except part of the outer web, 

 which is black ; the third having an additional streak of 



