PIED WAGTAIL. 195 



low-lying and richly-cultivated districts. It is very fond of frequenting 

 meadows and old pastures, is often seen in tlie farmyard or running along 

 the roofs of out-buildings or on the country roadside, bathing iu or 

 wading through the little puddles, busy in search of food. Although 

 many Pied Wagtails remain in this country throughout the year, its 

 favourite haunts rarely being quite deserted even in midwinter, many 

 retire southwards in autumn and leave our islands. These birds return 

 in flocks very early in the following spriug. During the cold days of 

 early March, when the air is still frosty and bracing, and the cold east 

 winds are drying up the moisture of February, the Pied Wagtails may be 

 often seen in flocks on the ploughed fields, sometimes accompanied by 

 Meadow-Pipits, on their way from the lowlands to the moors. They rim 

 along the ridges, dipping into the furrows, then appearing agaiu, tame 

 enough to pass under the horses' noses, or come within arm's length of the 

 ploughman as he rests his team at the headland. Few birds are more 

 tame and confiding than these fairy-like little creatures. Stevenson, in 

 his ' Birds of Norfolk,' mentions a migratory arrival of these birds which 

 he noticed at Teignmouth in Devonshire. They appeared on the morning 

 of the 20th of March, and the grassy slopes near the sea were soon covered 

 with them ; but on the following day they had passed on, probably to 

 their breeding-grounds further north. The Pied Wagtail may be often 

 seen wading in the shallows near the shore, or running nimbly along the 

 little islets of mud in the centre of the stream, passing over the treacherous 

 surface without the slightest inconvenience. It is never seen to hop ; but 

 always runs, sometimes aided by its wings. Its tail is constantly in 

 motion, as if serving as a kind of balancing-pole, and is usually spread 

 out like a fan when the bird alights or takes wing. Its flight is a droop- 

 ing one, performed in a long succession of curves or dips. It is capable 

 of flying with very great rapidity, as, for instance, in the spring, when it 

 is chasing its mate or a rival to her affections, or when in pursuit of some 

 predacious bird. Pied Wagtails stand well upon their legs, the tail is held 

 almost horizontal to the body, consequently they can wade to some little 

 distance without wetting their plumage, or run over the softest mud with- 

 out soiling it. They run hither and thither with wonderful ease, tripping 

 daintily along, ever and anon taking little flights to catch passing flies, or 

 turning incessantly from left to right in busy search for food. Now they 

 run into the shallows for a little way and snap at a gnat on the surface ; 

 then, returning, they will pause for a moment, with rapidly quivering tail, 

 to preen their plumage. Sometimes they rise into the air and settle on the 

 branches overhead, perching just as comfortably as a Sparrow, and evi- 

 dently quite at home amongst the twigs. They are very fond of alighting 

 on the roof of some out-building, and of running nimbly along calling 

 incessantly to each other, or making little sallies into the air like a Fly- 



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