FIEB WAGTAIL. 
SOo 
food ; and they may frequently be seen in summer bathing 
and washing themselves upon a shallow shore. 
This bird, although constantly resident in Britain, and not 
generally considered of a migratory disposition, evidently 
changes its station at different times, and after a jieriodical 
absence returns again. It may be observed in gardens, and 
grass fields, in summer and in the early part of autumn, in 
considerable numbers, probably several families together; 
while, in the same places, in winter, few or none are to be 
seen, notwithstanding the usual enticement of fresh-mown 
lawns. 
This species, as far as the subject has at present been in¬ 
vestigated, appears restricted to a limited range, including 
chiefly Norway, Sweden, and the British Isles; and it is 
occasionally seen in the north of Prance. In the two first 
mentioned countries it is, doubtless, only a summer visitor; 
as it does not even brave the cold of the northern counties of 
England, in the winter season, but retreats from those parts 
in autumn towards the south. 
We have ourselves long suspected that the migrations of 
the Pied Wagtail were more decided and extensive than the 
commonly received opinion warrants; and our suspicions 
have been most agreeably confirmed, by an account that ap¬ 
peared in the fifth No. of “ The Zoologist” for May last. 
We hope we may consider ourselves at liberty to trans¬ 
cribe a considerable part of the communication, which, we 
believe has not yet been noticed in any work, professedly upon 
British Birds. It is from the pen of A. E. Knox, Esq. 
“ The Pied Wagtail arrives from the Continent, on the 
shores of Sussex, about the middle of March. Although 
several remain with us during the winter, these bear but a 
small proportion to the number that visit us in the spring. 
On fine days during this month, with a gentle breeze from the 
south, I have frequently seen them, on different parts of the 
