WACITAILS. 



0<jl 



Pipits, and resemble them in manj' of tlieir habits, differing 

 chiefly in the lengthened tail and shorter claws. Both are 

 remarkable for the vibratory motion of their body while stand- 

 ing or walking, which their long tail renders a conspicuous 

 feature. 



The Pied "Wagtail {MotaciUa cinerea, Gmelin), Fig. 253, which 

 is generally distributed in England, seems to have been con- 

 founded with the White Wagtail {'Mot.adlla alba, Linn.) by natu- 

 ralists until both species were examined by Mr. Gould. In form 



rig. 2o4. — QuiiketailH i^Mutifcilli jlava^ Temm.). 



and proportion the two species closely resemble each other, the Pied 

 "Wagtail being the smaller. Mr. Gould states, in the " 3Iagazine 

 of Natural History," that while preparing his work on the Birds 

 of Europe he was surprised to find that the sprightljr Pied Wag- 

 tail, so common in our island at all seasons, could not be referred 

 to any described sjoecies, and that its habitat was limited to the 

 iJritish Islands, i^orwaj^, and Sweden. The true MotnciUa alba 

 of Linnaeus, on the other hand, is abundant in France, particu- 

 larly in the neighbourhood of Calais, but has never been dis- 

 covered on the opposite Kentish coast. 



The QuAKETAiLS {Buchjfes, Cuv.), Fig. 254, form the transition 

 from the Pipits to the W;igtails, but incline more to the latter. 



