CHAPTER XIII. 



THE AVAGTAIL. 



This elegant little bird belongs to the Motacilla, or Wagtail 

 family. There are three brothers of them in this country — the 

 pied, the grey, and the yellow. The pied is the most familiar, 

 and our friend Mr. Harrison Weir has given us a lovely picture 

 of it at home in a cleft of the rock, with fleshy-leaved lichens 

 above, and green springing frcnds of the great fern, which will 

 presently overshadow it. Around are the solemn mountains, 

 and the never silent water is foaming and rushing below. 



This bird has many names besides his Latin one of Motacilla. 

 In Surrey he is called washer, or dish-washer, by the common 

 people, from his peculiar motions in walking, which are thought 

 to resemble those of a washer-woman at her tub. The colours 

 of the pied wagtail are simply black and white, but so boldly 

 and clearly marked as to produce a very pleasing and elegant 

 effect. 



We have, every year, several wagtails in our garden, to which 

 they add a very cheerful feature, walking about, nodding their 

 heads and tails as if perfectly at home, afraid n-'ither of dog 

 nor cat, much less of any human being about the place. A 

 little running brook as one boundary of the garden is, no doub)t, 

 one of the attractions ; but here they are seen less frequently 

 than on the smoothly-mown lawn, where they pick up tiny 



