32 
British Birds. 
In some respects these birds resemble the Warblers 
( Sylviidce ), but the)' possess one character which shews a 
direct resemblance to the Larks, viz., the shape of the 
wing, in which the inner secondaries are lengthened, so as 
to nearly equal the primary-quills in extent. They are 
also ground-loving birds, walking or running like the Larks, and not hopping like 
Finches or Thrushes. 
THE 
WAGTAILS AND PIPITS 
Family 
MOTACILLIDM. 
The White Wagtail. 
The Pied Wagtail. 
The Pied Wagtail ( Motacilla lugu- 
bris). 'I his is one of our most elegant 
little birds, and is familiarly known as the 
‘ Dish-washer' in many parts of England, 
and in France it is called the ‘ Lavandiere’ 
or ‘ Washer-woman.’ It has a graceful 
way of vibrating the tail, especially when 
it first alights on the ground, a peculiarity 
also observable in the Pipits. The 
male Pied Wagtail is black above, 
but the female never seems to acquire 
a perfectly black back, this being dusky 
grey, more or less mixed with black, even 
in the breeding season. In winter the 
throat is white, with a black band across 
the fore-neck, and instead of a perfectly 
black head, the forehead is white, with 
only the hind part of the head black. 
Young birds in their first winter may be 
told by the yellowish tinge on the face ; 
otherwise they resemble the old birds in 
their winter plumage. 
Great Britain is the home of the Pied 
Wagtail, as it breeds scarcely anywhere 
else, and is a species peculiar to Western 
Europe. It has been found nesting in the 
North West of France, and occasionally in Holland. It remains in England during 
the winter, though a certain number migrate, but the winter range extends only 
through Western Europe to France, Spain and Morocco. 
The nest is a simple structure of grass or moss, neatly lined with hair or wool, 
built in the hole of a wall or bank, or on the stems of ivy. The eggs are five or six 
in number, pale, sprinkled with purplish brown dots on a whitish ground. 
The White Wagtail (M otacilla alba). This species is similar in form and 
markings to the ordinary Pied Wagtail, but is easily distinguished by its uniform 
