398 MOTACILLID A. 
ponds and streams, moist pastures, and the grass plots of 
pleasure-grounds; may be frequently seen wading in shal- 
low water, seeking for various aquatic insects, or their 
larve ; anda portion of a letter sent me lately by Wil- 
liam Rayner, Esq. of Uxbridge, who keeps a variety of 
birds in a large aviary near his parlour window for the 
pleasure of observing their habits, seems to prove that 
partiality to other prey, besides aquatic insects, has some 
influence in the constant visits of Wagtails to water. “I 
had also during the summer and autumn of 1837 several 
Wagtails, the Pied and Yellow, both of which were very 
expert in catching and feeding on minnows which were in 
a fountain in the centre of the aviary. These birds hover 
over the water, and, as they skim the surface, catch the 
minnow as it approaches the top of the water in the most 
dexterous manner, and I was much surprised at the wari- 
ness and cunning of some Blackbirds and Thrushes in 
watching the Wagtails catch the minnows, and immedi- 
ately seizing the prize for their own dinner.” 
The nest of our Pied Wagtail is formed of moss, dead 
grass, and fibrous roots, lined with hair and a few fea- 
thers; the nest is sometimes placed on the ground ona 
ditch bank, sometimes in a hole of a wall, or thatch of an 
out-building, and it is frequently fixed in the side of a 
wood stack, or hay-rick; occasionally it has been found 
occupying a cavity in a peat stack, or a wall of turf sod, 
but always in the vicinity of water. The eggs are four or 
five in number; white, speckled with ash-colour, nine 
lines in length, and seven lines in breadth. 
Mr. Jesse, in his “ Gleanings in Natural History,” re- 
cords an instance of a Water Wagtail building her nest 
im one of the workshops of a manufactory at Taunton. 
‘‘The room was occupied by braziers, and the noise pro- 
