YELLOW WAGTAIL. 
MOTACILLA RATI. 
r r.t : rrr ‘ *? - rr - 
Sr*? ,l ; " i " d - - “> “izX" “t- 
inlanT Bv Z end of M T 0V ” ^ P ‘ SS ' mead ° WS “ the <>t the coast as far as a mile or two 
inland. By the end of May the majority have taken their departure, and all that remain are the few pairs 
breeding in the district. In no part of the British Islands hare I met with this species so numerous during 
the summer months as m the Norfolk marshes. 3 
The counties north of the Humber do not appear so suitable to the habits of the Yellow Wagtail- 
and though stragglers are to be met with in many localities, I have never observed these birds in any thin- 
approaching the numbers that frequent the flat districts on the east coast. In Scotland I remarked a 
few pairs at various times near Dunbar, and again on Gullane links. The species was also recognized near 
t e sea-coast within a short distance of Nairn and Inverness, and once or twice on “ the fendom,” a 
remarkably flat sandy stretch of low-lying ground to the east of Tain, in Ross-shire. 
In not a single instance have I detected the nest in Scotland. I have no wish to state that the bird does 
not breed in considerable numbers so far north, as I gave but little attention to the species in this locality, 
being well acquainted with its habits from constantly observing them in the south. The situations chosen 
by the Yellow Wagtail for breeding-purposes vary considerably. In Norfolk, where I have had the most 
opportunities of observing them in their summer haunts, they frequently resort to holes in the banks 
of the water-dvkes intersecting the grass-marshes, the spot being usually well screened by long grass or 
overhanging plants. In the southern counties I have occasionally found their nests in situations almost 
similar, in the levels towards the east of Sussex and also in Kent. Throughout the arable portions of Sussex, 
in the immediate vicinity and to the west of Brighton, these birds commonly rear their young in the 
cornfields, some small inequality in the side of a grip or bank or even an open furrow being selected. 
Early in August the young birds collect in numbers in the Norfolk marshes. At this season 
considerable flocks now and then make their way to the farm-buildings, and may be seen eagerly searching 
for insects among the beasts in the yards. I have remarked as many as fifty or sixty busily engaged among 
the litter, flying up, when disturbed, to the roofs of the sheds, but speedily returning when the cause of 
their alarm had vanished. In Sussex I noticed both old and young gathering in the marshes near the 
sea-coast previous to migrating. 
The nestling plumage of this species is totally different from that assumed after the first moult. In 
its earliest feathers the Yellow Wagtail bears a strong resemblance to the Pipit tribe. Before the end 
of August a complete change has come over them ; and by that time it is difficult to distinguish the old 
birds from their broods, both being arrayed in their autumn travelling-dress. 
The Plate shows the young birds in their first feathers. This plumage is worn for only a few weeks. 
