556 



GREY WAGTAIL. 



the summer plumage is obtained, when the sexes 

 may be discriminated by the colour of the chin 

 and throat, which is rather of a dusky hue in the 

 female, and pure black in the male ; in both it is 

 bordered with white : at this time the breast and 

 belly of the male become of a brilliant yellow ; ^ 

 and in the female they are brighter than in the 

 winter. 



This elegant species is a constant inhabitant of 

 the southern parts of England in the winter, re- 

 tiring to the northern about April, and continu- 

 ing there till September : it is supposed to breed 

 in Cumberland and the adjoining counties, as 

 young birds have been shot in June. Colonel 

 Montagu relates an instance, on the authority of 

 Mr. Tucker, of a pair being seen in the summer 

 of 1808, in Devonshire, upon the borders of the 

 Dart, near Ashburton, to which belonged four 

 young birds that had recently left their nest, 

 which is said to be constructed of dried fibres and 

 tnoss, lined with hair, feathers, or wool; it is 

 placed on the ground, not far from the water : the 

 eggs are six or eight in number, of a dirty white, 

 marked with yellow spots. 



This species, like the White Wagtail, is solitary, 

 except in pairing time: it frequents watery places, 

 particularly small shallow streams, for the insects, 

 on which it feeds : it is found in many parts of 

 Europe, and Linnaeus asserts that it is gregarious: 

 the length of this species is seven inches and three 

 quarters. 



