MOTACILLA MELANOPE. 613 



summer in Shetland, but has not been met with in the Outer Hebrides, and is rare as a resident in Scotland 

 north of Inverness {Newton in Yarrell). In the winter there appears to be a movement from the south of 

 Europe to North Africa. It is, according to Favier, a winter visitor near Tangier, appearing in September 

 and October, and departing in February and March. Captain Shelley writes that it is probably a winter 

 visitor to Egypt, and observes that Dr. Adams met with it in Nubia. In the highlands of Abyssinia it also 

 winters ; and Brehm says that it is resident at Mensa. How far south it goes on the west coast of Africa is not 

 very clear; but Professor Newton has met with it in Madeira; and Mr. Godman (Ibis, 1866, p. 96) says that 

 it is resident in the Azores, being common wherever there is water throughout all the islands, and elsewhere 

 (Ibis, 1872, p. 176) remarks that it is abundant in all three of the Atlantic archipelagos. 



Habits. — In Ceylon this elegant little bird frequents the banks of rivers, both sandy and rocky streams in 

 the hills, the rivulets flowing through the " Plains " in the upper ranges, and even the roadside drains. It 

 perches on the roofs of houses in the Kandy country, on stumps of trees and on rhododendron and other 

 bushes, perpetually shaking or " balancing " its tail, and uttering its sweet little twittering note, which is 

 very distinct from the louder and coarser cry of the Field-Wagtail. It is very tame in its disposition, getting 

 up on being approached, and flying a little distance down the road or stream, and, if pursued, continues this for 

 a long distance, turning round at the last and returning to where it was first disturbed. Its flight is very 

 undulating, but it is, at the same time, swift, soon carrying the little bird out of sight when it is darting down 

 the steep rocky streams of the Kandyan hills. 



To be seen to perfection it must be espied standing on its favourite haunt — an isolated rock amid some 

 foaming torrent in the deep glens of the coffee-districts ; here it will rest for an instant under observation, bur 

 not long (for it is impatient when watched), "balancing" its graceful form, which looks all the more tiny when 

 contrasted with the huge rocks and dashing waters, and then uttering its cheerful whistle, will dart away ; or, 

 if the rock be large enough, it will run to and fro, as if delighting in the wildness of the scene, meanwhile 

 snapping right and left at the insects which swarm around it, or picking up some minute mollusk from the 

 edge of the stream. In England it is equally aquatic in its mode of life, dwelling on brooks, and especially 

 mountain-streams, in Wales or the northern counties. It is occasionally known to take up its quarters 

 near a farm-house; and I have seen it among outbuildings in company with its Pied congener. Jerdou 

 considers that " it has the jerking motion of the tail more remarkably than any other of the group, for it 

 appears unable to keep it motionless for a moment." 



Nidification. — In the Himalayas this species breeds in May and June, laying four or five eggs. Mr. Brooks 

 has taken its nest in Cashmere on mountain-streams up to 6000 feet. He writes, "One nest that I found in 

 Cashmere, at Kagan, was placed in a small bush on an island in the Sindh river, about 5 feet above the ground. 

 The situation was that of a finch's nest ! It was composed of moss, fibres, &c., and lined with hair, a neat 

 compact nest, and placed in the fork of the branches near the top of the bush. Another nest was placed 

 under a large boulder on the dry bed of the river, and was composed of the same materials." The eggs from 

 these nests are described as " broad ovals at the larger end, and much compressed and pointed towards the 

 smaller end. Typically the ground-colour is yellowish or brownish white, closely mottled and clouded all over 

 with pale yellowish brown or brownish yellow. These markings, always pale dull and smudgy, are somewhat 

 darker in some specimens and lighter in others ; almost all have a very fine black hair-like line near the 

 larger end." They vary from 0"68 to 0"73 inch in length by 0"53 to 0'55 inch in breadth (Hume). 



Near Gibraltar, according to Col. Irby, they breed in April and May, generally in holes of the brickwork 

 of the water-mills, sometimes close to the wheel, or in holes of rocks overhanging streams. In England it 

 likewise builds, as a rule, near water. Professor Newton states that other sites are sometimes chosen, aud 

 instances one case in which it was known to build on a shelf in a room, which the bird entered through a 

 broken window. He describes the eggs as " French-white, closely mottled, suffused, or clouded with very pale 

 brown or olive, varying in depth of tint and also in the extent of the ground shewn between the markings ; 

 they measure from - 79 to 0*72 inch by from 0*57 to 0'53." 



