82 HANDBOOK OF BRITISH INLAND BIRDS 
flights into the air, all the while keeping its long 
tail in constant motion. On the Continent of 
Europe it only occurs in a few of the westernmost 
regions, its place being taken elsewhere by the 
White Wagtail {Motacilla albd)^ a closely related 
bird, which is fairly frequently found nesting in 
this country, and probably does so more often 
than is thought, escaping notice owing to its 
similarity to our common species in general 
appearance. The difference, however, is not at all 
hard to perceive, at any rate in adult specimens ; 
the back of the cock White Wagtail is light grey, 
whereas the cock Pied Wagtail's is chiefly black, and 
this gives the former bird a much lighter general 
appearance to the eye, even on a casual inspection. 
The same difference is to be seen, though to a 
less striking extent, in the case of the hens. 
Occasionally the two species interbreed with one 
another. In the country districts of Norway a 
pair or two of White Wagtails is to be seen 
attached to most of the houses, since some stream 
or lake is almost always close at hand, and 
the birds take much the same half-domestic posi- 
tion as Robins do with us. The Robin in Norway, 
on the other hand, is more retiring in disposition, 
and is generally found in the woods. 
