THE PIED WAGTAIL, 315 
spangled with silvery lichens, which generally correspond in colour with the 
bark of the tree on which it is placed, and serve to render it as little con- 
spicuous as possible. The interior of the nest is wonderfully soft and warm, 
being literally crammed with downy feathers to such an extent that the eggs 
are deeply buried in the feathery bed, and cannot be counted until the whole 
lining of the nest is removed. The nest is generally placed rather near the 
ground, and is so well concealed that it is not easily seen except by expe- 
rienced eyes. . 
The number of eggs which this little bird lays is really surprising. Very 
seldom does it content itself with eight, and double that number has been 
frequently counted in a single nest. In consequence, the young birds are 
packed like so many herrings in a barrel, and the ingenuity which must be 
exerted by the parent birds in giving each little one its food in proper 
rotation must be very great indeed. 
The colouring of this species is as follows. The upper part of the head, 
the cheeks, the throat, and the whole of the under surface are greyish white, 
warming into a rosy hue upon the sides, flanks, and under tail-coverts. A 
broad stripe of deep black passes over the eye and ear-coverts, and joins 
a. large triangular patch of the same jetty hue, which extends from the 
shoulders as far as the upper tail-coverts. The shoulders, the scapularies, 
and the lower part of the back are washed with a decided tinge of a ruddy 
hue. The wings are mostly black, with the exception of the tertiary quill 
feathers, which are edged with white. The long central feathers of the tail 
are black, and the remainder are black on the inner webs and white on the 
outer. They are regularly graduated in length, each pair being about half 
an inch shorter than the preceding pair. Both sexes are similar in their 
colouring. The total length of the bird is about five inches and a half. 
WAGTAILS. 
WE now arrive at a smail group of birds which is sufficiently familiar to 
every observer of nature through the different representatives which inhabit 
this country. The WAGTAILS, so called from their well-known habit of 
jerking their tails while running on the ground or on settling immediately 
after a flight, are found in both hemispheres, and are all well known by the 
habit from which they derive their popular title. N ‘ess than nine species 
of this group occur in Britain, some of which are nearly as well known as the 
common sparrow, while others are less familiar to the casual observer. 
The PIED WAGTAIL is the most common of all the British examples of 
this genus, and may be seen at the proper season of the year near almost 
every pond or brook, or even in the open road, tripping daintily over the 
ground, pecking away at the insects and wagging its tail with hearty 
ood-will, 
Z Mr. Yarrell mentions that this bird is an accomplished fisher, and excels 
in snapping up the smaller minnows and fry as they come to the surface of 
the water. It also haunts the fields where sheep, horses, or horned cattle are 
kept, and hovers confidingly close to their hoofs, pecking away briskly at the 
little insects which are disturbed by their tread. It also delights in newly 
mown lawns, and runs over the smooth surface with great agility, peering 
between every grass-blade in search of the insects which may be lying con- 
cealed in their green shelter. The flight of the Pied Wagtail is short and 
jerking, the bird rising and falling in a very peculiar manner with every 
stroke of the wings. 
The Pied Wagtail remains in England throughout the vear, but generally 
