THE WAGTAILS. 
99 
in the south of England, where many winter. Their move- 
ments and ways of capturing insects are the same as those of 
the preceding species. It is a more shy and retiring bird than 
the Pied Wagtail, and is a somewhat early breeder, as we have 
known the young to be on the wing in the early part of May. 
Nest. — Resembles that of the Pied Wagtail, but generally to 
be found near a stream, built on the bank under a shelf of 
rock, and generally well concealed by the surrounding herbage. 
We found a nest for three years in succession in some ivy- 
covered trellis-work which grew over a disused bath-house at 
Avington Park, and Mr. Seebohm states that he once saw a 
nest built in the fork of three stems of an alder-tree, close to 
the ground, almost overhanging the water. The same observer 
remarks that he has found the nest lined with cow-hair, the 
preference being given to white, and he observed the same 
habits in Greece, the inner lining of the nest being made of 
white goats’ hair in the last-named country. 
Eggs. — Generally five, but occasionally as many as seven. 
In colour they vary considerably, the ground-tint being more 
olive than in the two foregoing species. Occasionally there is 
an approach to the markings and specklings of the White Wag- 
tail, but as a rule the tendency in the Grey Wagtail’s egg is 
towards uniformity, one clutch procured by Mr. R. J. Ussher, 
in co. Waterford, being nearly uniform bluish-white, with only 
the faintest indications of rufous mottlings. Another clutch 
taken by the same gentleman is bluish-white, handsomely 
mottled and spotted -with rufous-brown and with grey under- 
lying blotches and spots. As a rule the colour of each clutch 
of eggs is the same in character, but occasionally there is some 
\ariation in this respect, a clutch of four from the Vosges 
Mountains having two of the eggs nearly uniform pale olive, 
while the others are thickly spotted and blotched with pale 
brown, so that the olive ground-colour is all but concealed. 
Axis, o - 75-o' 8 inch; diam., C55. (Plate xxxi., fig. 3.) 
THE YELLOW WAGTAIL. MOTACILLA CAMPESTRIS. 
Moiacilla campestris, Pall. Reis. Russ. Reichs, iii., Anhang, 
p. 697 (1776); Sharpe, Cat. B. Brit. Mus., x., p. a 0 [ 
pi. vi., figs. 1, 2 (1885). 
h 2 
