Ill 



THE YELLOW WAGTAIL. 



Motacilla rati (Bonap.). 



The earliest records of the Yellow Wagtail were from Devon- 

 shire on the 7th and 9th of April, and from Hampshire on 

 the 8th ; but the bulk of the immigrants entered the country 

 to the eastward of the latter county, chiefly on the coast of 

 Kent. 



With the exception of a few individuals observed in Kent 

 on the 16th and 23rd, and in Somersetshire on the 18th, the 

 records up to the 25th of April referred to stragglers which 

 were distributed as far north as Cheshire. 



An immigratory movement seems to have taken place in 

 Kent on the 26th, and was composed chiefly of males. This 

 was followed by an increase in numbers in Norfolk and 

 Shropshire on the two following days. In the former county 

 a further increase, consisting chiefly of females, was noted 

 on the 20th. On that date the first arrivals were recorded 

 in Lancashire, and numbers in Shropshire, while two days 

 later a pair were observed in Westmoreland. 



Between the 4th and 6th of May a further immigration 

 took place along the en stern portion of the south coast. 



Alter that date the birds appear to have begun to settle 

 down in their breeding-quarters, although migrants were still 

 passing through the country, notably Glamorgan, between 

 the 13th and 18th of May. 



A nest was found in Norfolk on the 6th of May, one with 

 four eggs in Westmoreland on the 22nd, and two with 

 incubated eggs in Yorkshire on the 24th. 



