43 ° 
PERCHING BIRDS. 
dusky black, edged with greyish white; the tail black and white; the chin and 
throat black; and the lower-parts pure white. 
Yellow-Headed The yellow-headed wagtail (31. citreolcc ) is a native oi‘ Siberia 
wagtail. and Eastern Russia, wintering in most parts of the Indian Empire, 
and apparently finding its westward summer limits in the valleys of the Petchora 
and Volga. It breeds in Kashmir, where the nests are placed under clods in the 
ploughed fields. The proper home of this beautiful bird is, however, amongst the 
dreary tundras of the far north ; Mr. Seebohm having observed it perching on 
alder-bushes in the neighbourhood of flooded land on the banks of the Petchora. 
There it breeds in June, and its habits resemble those of other yellow wagtails, its 
light dainty form assimilating closely to that of the blue-headed and yellow 
wagtails. The adult male in summer lias the entire head and neck deep yellow, as 
are the under-parts; the upper plumage being ashy grey tinged with bluish. 
The species which haunts the streams and mountain torrents of 
Central Europe is the grey wagtail (31. melanope). A common 
summer visitant and partial resident in the British Isles, shunning the neighbourhood 
of sluggish, turbid rivers, and delighting in tiny cascades and rippling waterfalls, 
the grey wagtail is fond of wading daintily in the shallows of a stream, and 
running over the rocks rising out of the bed. Never found at any distance from 
water, the nest is placed in a variety of situations, often in the recesses of some 
loose stone wall, or mossy shelf of rock overhanging running water; while a hole 
in a wooden bridge is occasionally selected. Nesting year after year in the same 
place, the grey wagtail is a very early breeder, full complements of eggs being laid 
■early in April; and it breeds twice in a season, the second brood being generally 
fully fledged about the middle of July. The nest is built of dry stems of grass 
and a few roots, usually lined with horsehair; six eggs being laid in a clutch, 
which are white in ground-colour, suffused with pale brown or olive. The grey 
wagtail has a pretty little song, often uttered from the top of some willow or other 
riverside tree; the males are very jealous, each choosing his own territory from 
which every intruder is ousted. Even when the first broods of young are already 
fledged, and actively searching for food in company with their parents, the old 
■cocks are always on their guard against the possible intrusion of a stranger, whose 
approach is invariably heralded with a challenge to combat. During its migrations 
the grey wagtail visits many low-lying districts far remote from its haunts by 
rocky rivers, occurring near London every winter. This wagtail bears confinement 
well, and has been known to pair with the pied wagtail in captivity and produce 
hybrid young. The adult male in summer has the crown and upper-parts slaty 
grey, the upper tail-coverts greenish yellow, a white stripe passing above the eye 
and another beneath the lore; the chin and throat are black, and the lower-parts 
bright yellow. In winter the chin and throat are dirty white, the breast dull buff, 
and the under-parts greyish white tinged with yellow. 
Blue-Headed One of the prettiest of all the wagtails is the blue-headed species 
wagtail. (Jf. flava), well known in most parts of Europe, though but a chance 
summer visitor to the British Islands. In Holland, on the other hand, the present 
species is of general distribution, though most numerous on the banks of streams 
•and in the neighbourhood of morasses. Its flight is swift, graceful, and undulating, 
