86 M OTACIL L A. 
fielves. White and black are the only colours of the 
plumage ; yet theie are to agreeably difpOfed as to form a 
very pretty bird. A ftripe of white goes over each eye, 
and reaches a good way back; the throat, front of the 
neck, flanks, all the beily, and under the tail, are white 
alfo. The head, back, and fides of the neck, are of a 
decided jet black, and a patch of the fame extends to the 
bread; the mantle, fcapulars, back, and the middle quills 
of the tail and wings, are black alfo; the latter taftily 
fringed with white; and there are two white fpots on each 
fide, juft at the pinions. The lateral tail-feathers have 
progrefilvely more white as they recede from the middle, 
fo that the two outer ones are black only at their origin. 
The bill and feet are black; the eyes brown. The female 
is fomewhat fmaller; the black colour of her plumage 
rather inclines to grey ; but the difpoiition of the colours 
is precifely the fame, and it is very hard to diftinguilh 
them, for it is not till the third moult that the male is 
of a more decided black than the female. When young, 
the refemblance is complete, both male and female being 
of a fate-colour, much lighter than the adult female. 
The full-grown male has a fliarp cry, which is its call; 
and alfo a little long, exprefling pzit-pzit, prizizi-prizizi , 
the note of pleafure and gaiety. Thefe birds feldom 
build upon high trees ; but commonly on rocks, or on 
the ftindy ftiore, where they may be feen running with 
vaft fwiftnefs, fhaking their tails, and picking up all the 
inferts they meet with in their way ; flies alfo they will pur- 
fue, and catch them on the wing, but not fo dexteroufly 
as the fly-catchers, becaufe they have neither the large 
bill nor the convenient briftles of thofe birds. They will 
fometimes go into the water up to their bellies in purfuit 
of an infert appearing on the furface. 
The wagtails of Africa are more fhy and timid than 
thofe of Europe. The prefent fpecies builds a neft on 
low bufhes near rivers; fometimes in a hole in a rock 
Handing in the water ; or in the trunk of a dead or worm- 
eaten tree floated on-fhore from fome river. Thecompo- 
fttion of the neft is plants and mofs, lined with hair and 
feathers ; the eggs are five in number, and the male fhares 
■with his female the talk of incubation. This fpecies is 
firft met with on the banks of Orange River, in the 28th 
degree of S. lat. but not farther louth ; from that point 
to the tropics, it inhabits the banks of all the rivers, but 
not on this fide of Orange River, nor in the parallel parts 
of Caffraria on the eaft coaft. The Namaquois call it 
a-gnimp, or “ runner upon the fand.” 
67. Motacilla variegata, the variegated wagtail. The 
male of this fpecies has a narrow black collar on the lower 
part of the neck in front. It is about the fize of the com¬ 
mon wagtail; it perches on trees, differing from the pre¬ 
ceding, which prefers running on the ground. Its legs 
are fliorter than the generality of wagtails have them; 
but what determines it to belong to this genus, Vaillant 
lays, is the rhape of the wing, the firft and laft feathers 
being longeft, and forming a returning angle about their 
middle, like thofe of the inipes, plovers, and fome others. 
In fhort, this is a real wagtail; it wags its tail as it runs 
along the ground in fearch of worms. Its cry and call 
are fimilar to thofe of the preceding. The top of the 
head and back of the neck are light brown with an oliva¬ 
ceous tint; the fame prevails over the mantle and fca¬ 
pulars. The wings are black; there is a wliitifh fpot in 
the middle, and the larger coverts are edged with white; 
below this edging, the large feathers are marked with 
yellow. The under part of the plumage is a compofition 
of brown and dirty white, on which appears the brownifh- 
black collar or breaft-band. The four middle feathers of 
tire tail are black; the others more white as they recede 
from thefe. The eye is brown; the bill yellowifli; the 
legs red. The female has no collar. It feerns to be a 
rare'fpecies; Vaillant met with it in Caffraria only, but 
never di('covered its neft. 
68. Motacilla ftriata, the ftriated wagtail. This fpe¬ 
cies has “ ftrite acrofs the tail, evident not to the fight 
only, but to the touch, by palling the fingers over the 
ftems of the two rmd-qu:l!s, where thefe ftria; rife and 
fall.” It has alfo a white fpot on each Ihoulder, arifing 
from the top of the wing-coverts and from fome of the 
fcapular feathers, which laft have moftly a black fpot at 
their tips. On the middle of the belly appears a red fpot, 
and the under tail-coverts are of the fame colour. The 
reft of the plumage is glofly black, except that the ex¬ 
tremities of the wing-quills incline to brown. The la¬ 
teral feathers of the tail are tapered. The bill and feet 
are black; the eyes maroon-colour. The female is fmaller, 
and of a duller black. This fpecies inhabits the bufhes 
and mimofa-woods of Caffraria; faid alio to inhabit Ben¬ 
gal ; makes its neft on the ground under a thick bufh 5 
lays four grey eggs, which the male and female fit on by 
turns. Its cry may be exprefied by tac-tac-trac, tac-tac- 
trac, which the male repeats inceffantly, clapping his 
wings and railing his tail at the fame time. 
69. Motacilla rubra, the red-vented wagtail. Inhabits 
the fame places as the preceding. “ The whole of the 
under part of the body, from the lower part of the breaft 
including the under tail-coverts and the plumage of the 
thighs, is decidedly red, a little paler on the lower belly.” 
The rump, the upper tail-coverts, the tail itl'elf, (except 
the two middle feathers which are blackilh-brown,) are 
of a ftrong red, like the under parts of the body. The 
head, neck, mantle, and upper wing-coverts, are jet 
black; the large wing-quills are black, growing browner 
towards their points; the under wing-coverts are red. 
The bill and feet are black; the eyes red. The female 
differs only in being fomewhat lefs than the male. The 
neft Vaillant never met with ; nothing therefore is known 
of its manner of incubation. The note was very fimilar 
to that of our robin-redbreaft. 
70. Motacilla curfor, the running wagtail. The 
largeft and ftouteft of the African fpecies. It frequents 
the lcorched and barren plains, and lives folitary. Ever 
upon the ground, and running, it eafily tires out and 
elcapes the fowler, for it is very cunning; it leems fonder 
of running than of flying, efpecially when in danger. 
The running wagtail, however, finds abundant provilion 
in thefe barren lpots ; for inferts, and efpecially grafs- 
lioppers, are its principal food. You need not expert to 
fee more than one male and female in the fame canton, 
and them only by chance, fince, being always on the 
ground, the fcattered fhrubs in the plains of Nameroo 
hide them from the view ; but the piercing cry of the 
male to his female may be heard at fome diftance, and 
thus betrays him; then your only chance is to Ihoot 
before the pair fly oft' to the next bufli; for, when once 
alarmed, all purfuit is vain. The length of the male, by 
a line drawn from the extremity of the bill to the tip of 
the tail, is feven inches and three lines. “ The top of 
the head from the eyes and noftrils, is entirely white. 
The tail, which is tapered, is white at the lides, and 
black in the middle; i. e. the two mid-quills are black, 
the reft white.” The lower belly and under tail-coverts 
are white alfo. The reft of the plumage is jet black, like 
the blackbird of Europe. The bill, which is hooked at 
the tip of the upper mandible, i3 black; fo are the legs, 
feet, and nails; the legs are very long, and formed for 
running. The eyes are dark brown. The female is fome¬ 
what lets ; and not of fo jet a black, but rather tinged with 
brown. Vaillant was not able to fpeak with certainty of 
their mode of incubation; but has no doubt that, like 
the reft of the wagtails of the plain, they build on the 
ground, and even in holes. 
71. Motacilla familiaris, the familiar wagtail. In every 
clafs of animals there are fome fpecies, which, while they 
preferve their liberty, are in fome fort domefticated, and, 
finding no danger in the fociety of man, venture to ap¬ 
proach him, and to live as it were with him. Thus they 
procure comforts which we fuffer them to enjoy in peace, 
becaufe, happily for them, we find no advantage in en- 
flaving them. Such, among birds, are the fwallows, who 
neftle and rear their young almoft in our houfes ; and 
the dorks, which in Holland are fo familiar, that they 
3 walk 
