CHAPTER LIII. 



The Grey Wagtail. 



Motacilla hoarula, Lin. ; Bergeronette jaune, Buf. 



Desceiption and Charactee. — The Grey Wagtail, also known 

 as the Grey and Yellow Wagtail, is rather an elegant bird, and 

 very attractive in appearance, its plumage being beautifully 

 diversified. It is not so plentiful as the Pied Wagtail, and is 

 much more prized. It is not considered so hardy as the 

 Common variety, and is, consequently, less frequently kept in 

 confinement, though it makes a pleasing and attractive addition 

 to a carefully-selected aviary of British birds. 



A fully-grown bird measures, from beak to tip of tail, 7^in. to 

 8in., the tail measuring 3jin. The bill is dark brown, verging 

 on black. The irides are brown. The head, hind part of neck, 

 cheeks, and back, are dark ashen grey, slightly tinctured with 

 green, particularly about the head. The large pen feathers and 

 wing coverts are dusky greenish brown, the latter being edged 

 with ashen grey. The secondary quills are white at the base 

 and brown at the ends, and are tipped with yellow at the outer 

 edges ; in length, they are almost equal to the major flight 

 feathers. The middle feathers of the tail are black ; the 

 exterior feathers are white, the next adjoining white on the 

 inside and at the tips, and on the outside black. The third 

 feather on each side is white on the outer and black on the 

 inner edge. The rump and upper tail coverts are yellow. 

 Over each eye is a streak of greyish white, and another passes 

 from the gape, or base of the beak, down the sides of the neck ; 

 a narrow band of black runs parallel from the gape to the eye. 



