8o TJie Wagtail. 



The ordinary note of this bird, uttered rapidly if alarmed, is a 

 sort of c//£^/, cheep. In the summer morning, however, it maybe 

 heard singing a pleasant, mellow and modulated little song. Like 

 the swallow, for which it is a match in elegance, it lives entirely 

 on insects. If you would only stand silently for a few minutes 

 by a water-side, where it haunts, you would be delighted with 

 the grace and activity of its movements. " There it stands," 

 says one of its friends, " on the top of a stone, gently vibrating 

 its tail, as if balancing itself. An insect flies near ; it darts off, 

 flutters a moment in the air, seizes its prey, and settles on 

 another stone, spreading and vibrating its tail. Presently it 

 makes another sally, flutters around for a while, seizes two or 

 three insects, glides over the ground, swerving to either side, 

 then again takes its stand on a pinnacle." Not unfrequently 

 too it may be seen on the roof of a house, or in a village street, 

 still in pursuit of insects. 



