THE BLACK-BACKED WAGTAIL. 
155 
wing-coverts black; greater wing-coverts white with the centres of the 
feathers black ; primary- coverts and quills black, all margined with white. 
In winter the black upper plumage turns to iron-grey, but there are 
almost always indications o£ black remaining, especially on the shoulder of 
the wing and on the back ; the white of the forehead is sullied with brown 
and frequently turns to the same iron-grey colour as the back ; the chin and 
throat turn to white and no black remains on the breast except a small 
circular or lunar-shaped patch. 
The young are like the adults in winter plumage, but the white of the 
head is tinged with yellow. 
Bill black, bluish below ; iris brown ; legs and claws dark brown or 
nearly black. 
Length 7*7 inches, tail 3*6, wing 3'5, tarsus '85, bill from gape '75. 
The female is rather smaller than the male. 
In Burmah the majority of these birds are obtained in winter plumage. 
Occasionally, however, even in January or February, a fully summer- 
plumaged bird is seen. I am now convinced that M. felix is only this 
species in summer plumage. In the females the back turns grey very 
soon after breeding is over and generally before they arrive in Burmah, 
The males retain some amount of black on the back and the shoulder 
throughout the winter. This species may, however, always be distinguished 
in winter from the next by the large amount of white on the greater wing- 
coverts. In M. leucopsis almost the whole of the outer webs is pure white, 
in M. alba merely the edges. 
The Black-backed Wagtail is found abundantly over the whole of the 
plains of Pegu during the winter. They arrive about the middle of Sep- 
tember and depart in April. Mr. Davison states that they are only found 
in the northern half of the Tenasserim Division, and he does not appear to 
have observed it further south than Moulmein. Capt. Bingham pro- 
cured it in the Thoungyeen valley. It is probably a common bird in 
Arrakan. 
This Wagtail is confined to the eastern parts of Asia. In winter it is 
found over the whole of Southern China, and Dr. Tiraut remarks that it 
is abundant in Cochin China. It extends over the Indo-Burmese countries 
and the north-eastern part of India including the Himalayas as far as 
Nipal. In summer it passes to Eastern Siberia and the Amoor, where 
Schrenck found it breeding. It apparently also breeds in North China, 
for Pere David states, from his own observations, that it nests on roofs 
and in the neighbourhood of houses. 
This Wagtail is one of the commonest birds of the country, and present 
everywhere in great numbers except in forest-land, which it apparently 
shuns. It frequents by choice the margins of ponds and rivers, but it is 
also seen on roads, dry fields, and even in compounds and gardens. It 
