224 
MOTACILLTD.E. 
as the grasses and other materials frequently straggle out. 
It is often found in a hole in a tree, sometimes high in 
the stem and sometimes low, or among the roots that have 
become exposed by water-courses, in heaps of stones, or 
among felled timber. Occasionally, the nest of this bird 
is found under the eaves of a roof among the timbers, or 
in a straw thatch. Both male and female assist at the con¬ 
struction of the nest, the foundation of which consists chiefly 
of dry sticks, roots of grasses and straw, and dried leaves, 
intermixed with green moss ; the second layer of finer ma¬ 
terials of the same kind, lined with wool, cow, or horse-hair, 
Avhich serve as a finish, and complete the nicely-rounded cup. 
The eggs are similar in size and form to those of our common 
pied-wagtail, being very blunt at one end and pointed at the 
other. The shell is very smooth, but without polish. The 
ground-colour is bluish-white, more or less obscured by small 
grey specks ; the eggs are, besides, speckled, and marked with 
very fine chocolate-coloured spots, chiefly at the larger end. and 
sometimes forming a zone. Six or seven are the usual number. 
The young make their appearance in a fortnight, and are 
at first covered with a black down, with pink legs and beak, 
and yellow corners to the mouth. 
These birds have generally two broods in the year, and in 
a mild spring they have eggs as early as the middle of April. 
The dimensions of this species differ so little from those of 
the common pied-wagtail of England, that no specific distinc¬ 
tion has been established from them. Diflhrence enough, 
however, exists in the tints of the plumage and distribution 
of the colours, to justify the distinction recognised between 
them. One variation of form we suggest, which may prove, 
if permanent, a generic distinction, namely, that the tertials 
in this species are not quite so long in proportion as in the 
Motacilla lotor. 
The dimensions of the White Wagtail are as follows 
