GREY WAGTAIL. 
MOTACILLA SULPHUREA. 
I cannot call to mind a single instance of having noticed this species in the Outer Hebrides. With the 
exception of a pair or two about Golspie Lairg and Allnaharra, I never met with the Grey Wagtail further 
north than the east coast of Ross-shire. In the neighbourhood of Tain these Wagtails were by no means 
uncommon, most numerous perhaps in the spring and summer, though a few pairs were to be found in 
certain localities during the winter. I repeatedly noticed these peculiarly clean and elegant-looking birds 
frequenting the open drains and other repulsive spots that still remain in some old-fashioned Highland 
towns. r J hey were to be observed at most seasons actively snapping flies and other insects off the heaps 
of filth and refuse liberally scattered in the public streets. In the town of Inverness a few pairs are to be 
seen along the banks of the river. Stragglers now and then penetrate the thickly populated parts of the 
town ; but their favourite haunts are the shores between the bridge and the islands. These birds are also to 
be met with in various parts along the canal towards the west. 
In Perthshire the Grey Wagtail is common in many districts; I find, however, in my notes that in 
some localities they disappear during the winter, and do not show themselves till well on in April. The 
dust-heap at the back of a shooting-lodge that docs not rejoice in (or rather, as prejudiced natives would 
declare, suffer from) drains is the happy hunting-ground of these birds. As a rule they are of a sociable 
disposition, and appear to prefer quarters at no great distance from human habitations. In several of the 
southern counties of Scotland these birds were noticed. On one occasion I detected a pair on the island of 
Fidra, in the Firth of Forth ; and they are also common during the autumn along the shore from North 
Berwick to Dunbar. Along the hill-burns and river-banks in Cumberland, and also on the coast of 
Northumberland, I remarked several pairs. During summer and autumn a few may be met with in the wildest 
parts of the rocky glens on the Yorkshire moors, through which the hill-streams make their way towards the 
North Sea. In Norfolk I did not recognize the species, except in three or four instances where stragglers 
made their appearance in autumn in the neighbourhood of Breydon mudflats ; these, doubtless, were working 
their way south for the winter. To the best of my recollection, I never caught a glimpse of a single specimen 
in the broad-district. 
In Sussex, these birds are to be met with during autumn, winter, and early spring, frequenting streams 
and river-banks. A few remain in the neighbourhood of Brighton at these seasons, resorting to open drains 
or pools, and in some instances visiting the gardens adjoining the town. In the west of England I did not 
penetrate their haunts during the breeding-season, though a few specimens were now and then observed in 
the autumn. 
The nest is most commonly placed in a hole among stones on the rough bank of a mountain-sti'eam or 
in the cavities of old masonry. These birds frequently return during many successive years to the same 
situations. While fishing one spring in Glenlyon in Perthshire, I noticed a fine male of this species 
