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On the Nesting of the White Wagtail.



7.50 : a skin measurement probably). Wing 3.37" The tips of the

longest secondary and longest primary are equidistant from the

flexure. Tail 3.35" The margins of the lower and median coverts

white, forming two conspicuous bars across the wing : beak, quills

of flights and legs black ; crown, nape, chin, throat and upper breast

black ; forehead and sides of face pure white, the patch extending

backwards so far as to just barely divide the black area of the nape

from that of the upper breast. Length of the breast patch from

base of beak to base of patch 1.62" Back and rump a beautiful soft

pearl grey. Underparts and under tail coverts pure white. Tail jet

black, except the two outer rectrices on each side, which are white

except the basal half.


Saunders and Coues describe the flights as “ blackish,” but

this appears to be correct only as far as their outer margins are

concerned ; the primaries, except the first and second, are margined

on the inner side, as to the lower half, with white (in the immature

plumage with light grey), and the broad white margins of the

secondaries are very conspicuous.


Immature Plumage (twenty-sixth day). Wing 3.25" Tail

2.50" The margins of the lower and median coverts as conspicuous

as in the adults, but pale cream ; the two outer rectrices on each

side have less black on them than in the adults ; flights as above ;

the second, third and fourth primaries have the outer web emargin-

ated (the exact effect of this has not as yet, I think, been explained,

but it must impart special characteristics to the flight, as witness

the peculiar flight of the Tyrants, and the singular emargination of

the inner web of the primaries of this group) ; beak dark born

colour ; crown, nape and back grey, the feathers tipped with dull

buff: Saunders describes the forehead as “white, tinged with yellow,”

but these young birds had the forehead grey like the back; sides of

the face and the throat cream ; surrounding the throat patch a

crescent of blackish feathers of varying size and depth of colouring.


The young flew well immediately after leaving the nest, and

their tails flickered in the characteristic manner of the adults.


9th July. Released the adults and two young, retaining two

of the latter to settle a question connected with the spring moult.

In the evening I was delighted to see old and young flying about the



