WHITE WAGTAIL 67 
small birds—finches, warblers, and the rest—move 
by hopping; but Wagtails all run, and hardly 
ever make any semblance of a hop unless the 
sudden bound into the air after some passing fly be 
called a hop. No bird is neater or more graceful in 
line than this, and I am sadly conscious of how little 
of its real beauty the drawing gives; the dainti- 
ness with which it does everything is singularly 
beautiful. Though many pass the winter in 
Egypt some must go farther south, as when the 
time comes for their return to their northern 
breeding-places in February and March there 
is a notable increase in their numbers, and I 
remember one particular evening in March when 
the whole cultivated ground round the Ramaseum, 
Thebes, was literally covered with them, and as 
darkness came on even more seemed to be dropping 
in on every side. The next day, when I went to 
the same place, the bulk had already gone, and 
there were hardly more than you could see at any 
time. 
The Yellow Wagtail is a smaller bird than the 
White. Ornithologists record no less than three 
species as found in Egypt, all having yellow 
breasts. The Grey-headed Yellow Wagtail is the 
one most abundant, and for beauty is unsurpassed. 
