334 



British Cage Birds. 



ception of the two exterior feathers on each side, which are 

 half black and half white collaterally. The legs and feet are 

 black, and the hind claws very long. The young birds, before 

 they moult, are much paler in colour than their parents, and 

 this is more particularly observable on the under parts of their 

 bodies. 



Habits and Breeding. — The Yellow Wagtail is a bird of 

 passage, arriving in this country in March, and leaving again 

 in September, though a stray specimen may be occasionally 

 met with in the winter in some of the warm Southern counties 

 of England. It has two broods of young ones annually, and 

 builds its nest the same as Larks, on the ground, in corn- 

 fields and meadows, or by the side of a stream, among the 

 tall grass. The nest is composed of dried grass stalks and 

 •root fibres, and is lined with wool or hair. The hen lays five 

 or six dusky grey or pale lead-coloured eggs, with dusky brown 

 spots and irregular lines ; she incubates thirteen days, and the 

 young remain in the nest until fully fledged, if not disturbed 

 or molested. 



Methods of Capture. — The same plans may be resorted to as 

 recommended for capturing Pied Wagtails, though these birds 

 are much more difficult to ensnare than their congeners, as they 

 are more suspicious. 



Food and Treatment. — In a state of Nature, Yellow Wag- 

 tails feed chiefly on flies and small insects ; they devour the 

 insects which torment sheep and cattle, and may be frequently 

 observed in the vicinity of pastures. 



In confinement, they will eat, and thrive upon, the same kinds 

 of food as given to other varieties of Wagtails. They are very 

 partial to hard-boiled egg, chopped fine, and mixed with white 

 breadcrumbs and ants' eggs, or mealworms. 



Rearing the Young. — The young may be taken when ten or 

 twelve days old, not later, and reared on milk and bread, mixed 

 with ants' eggs or chopped mealworms ; or they may be fed on 

 hard-boiled egg, grated, and mixed with breadcrumbs ; this 

 should be moistened, worked into a soft paste, and mixed with 

 ants' eggs and a little finely-shredded beef suet, freed from the 

 skin. As they get older, they will require a larger quantity of 

 insect food, such as mealworms and flies. When they reach 

 the age of six weeks, they may be fed and treated in all 

 respects the same as adult birds ; but it must be remembered. 



