546 WHITE WAGTAIL. 



feathers are black, with the exception of the ex- 

 terior one on each side, which has the outer web 

 entirely, and the middle part of the inner web, 

 white : legs black. The female is dusky where 

 the male is black, and the rump and back incline 

 more to cinereous. The young have no black on 

 the throat till the returning spring, but about the 

 beginning of March they obtain it : in the autumn 

 the black feathers, on the chin and throat of the 

 old birds, fall off, and are replaced by white ones, 

 leaving only a black crescent-shaped patch on the 

 breast* Dr. Latham mentions having seen a va- 

 riety white, except on the hind parts, which were 

 yellowish : he also describes a bird which came 

 from Lu^onia, which differs in few particulars 

 from the first described, as it has the throat and a 

 band on the wings white, and the black on the 

 breast joins that of the hind part of the neck, and 

 forms a collar of that colour : in other respects it 

 is nearly similar. 



The nest of the Water-wagtail, or as it is called 

 in many parts Dish-washer, or Washerwoman, is 

 placed either amongst a heap of stones, in the 

 hole of a wall, or on the top of a pollard tree ; it 

 is composed of moss, dry grass, and fibrous roots, 

 woven together with wool, and lined with feathers 

 or hair : the female lays four or five eggs, which 

 exactly resemble those of the Cuckow ; they are 

 white, spotted with light brown and ash : the 

 parent birds are very attentive to their young, 

 and continue to feed them for three or four weeks 

 after they are able to fly ; they will defend them 



