Water Wagtails. 



447 



continually hunting for insects of all descriptions : beetles, 

 iiies, moths, and aphides, as well as millipedes, snails and 

 slugs. 



The Pied Wagtails migrate from the more northern to the 

 southern parts of the kingdom in the autumn, and some leave 

 this country for the winter. Flocks of them have been 

 noticed in Kent and Sussex near the coast in September, 

 evidently bound for foreign climes. These return again very 

 early in the spring, but there are always Pied Wagtails to be 

 seen throughout the winter in this country, except in the 

 more northern regions. 



The male of this species of Wagtail is rather more than 

 7 inches in length, the female is slightly over 6 inches long, 

 from beak to tip of tail. The body is black above, while the 

 breast, belly, and parts under the tail are white. There are 

 also white feathers on the margins of the wings and tail, but 

 the legs and beak are black. The throat is black in summer, 

 but becomes white in winter. Breeding begins in the spring, 

 and there are often two broods in the season. The nest 

 is constructed of moss, dried grass, bents, and fine roots, and 

 lined with wool, feathers, and other soft materials. From 

 four to six eggs are laid, of which the ground colour is 

 bluish white, with brownish or purple-brown specks. 



The Grey Wagtail [Motacilla melanope) is not such an abun- 

 dant species as the Pied Wagtail. It is of more solitary 

 habits, and is found chiefly in the mountainous and hilly dis- 

 tricts of England and Scotland. It breeds, however, fre- 

 quently in Devon, Dorset, Somerset, and Wilts, and in loca- 

 lities generally where there are streams and brooks, and 

 plenty of water; but less frequently in the south-eastern 

 districts. It is fairly common in Ireland. It migrates to the 

 more southern counties in the autumn. Like the Wagtail 

 first described, this species subsists entirely upon insects, and 

 may be seen, especially near brooks and other watercourses 

 and in marshes, busily hunting for its food. It is particu- 

 larly addicted to small snails — fresh-water molluscs — and this 

 predilection enables it to do good service to sheep farmers and 

 breeders by destroying quantities of the snail known as 

 Limncea truncatula^ which is the host of that scourge of 



