MOTACILLA. 
102 
the cafe of the neft exhibited in the drawing communi¬ 
cated by the Rev. John Lightfoot (the obferver of the 
fpecies) to the Royal Society, and by them engraved in 
the Phil. Tranf. vol. lxxv. for 1785. The bird, however, 
though generally, does not always confine her building 
to the fupport of reeds; fometimes flie fixes it on to the 
branches of the water-dock; and, in one inftance only (that 
here delineated), it was found faftened to the trifurcated 
branch of a fyringa-bulh, or Philadelphus, growing in a 
garden-hedge by the river-fide. Eggs generally four in 
number, whitifh, fpotted with olive. This bird frequents 
the river Coin in Buckinghamfhire, and no doubt other 
rivers and watery places where reeds grow. It is a fhy 
bird, and not often taken, though the neft is frequently 
met with. It may eafily be miftaken for the fedge-bird, 
M. falicaria; but is certainly a different fpecies ; the cir- 
cumftance of its having the bafe of the bill much larger 
than in the fedge-bird, were there no other chara&eriftic, 
mull alone determine the difference between them. 
409. Matacillafimbriata, the gauze-tailed warbler. This 
(mail fpecies, which is about the fize of a wren, inhabits 
the illand of Java; at leaft it was fent from that place to 
M. Temminck of Amfterdam, and from him to Monf. 
Vaillant. The moft remarkable thing in this fpecies is 
the manner in which the tail-quills are barbed ; the fea¬ 
thers are fo thinly fcattered along the quills, as to have 
the appearance at firft fight of their having been ftripped; 
but upon examination they are fo regular, that there is 
no doubt but the “ fringe or gauze tail” is the fpecific 
charatffer. The prefent fpecimen had but three feathers 
in the tail; but, on lifting up the coverts, the cells or 
fockets of feven more appeared, which muff;-either have 
been pulled out or dropped in moulting. The tail was 
certainly very much tapered ; for, of the three feathers 
that remained, two, which were the middle ones, were 
equal in length, the other was ftrorter. This individual 
is fuppofed to be a male; extreme length, from the tip of 
bill to that of the tail fix inches and a half. The bill is 
blackifli, legs and feet brown. The head is of a rufous 
brown, which continues down the fides of the neck, and 
all the under parts of the body. The throat and front 
of the neck are grey blue, Alining and glittering like 
pearl, or oriental agate. The back of the neck is very 
dark brown mingled with lighter tints ; the fcapulars and 
wings are of a dirty brown edged with rufous. The tail 
is longer than the body ; the quills are almolt black for 
half their length ; the remainder and the barbs are of a 
red brown ; the tail is fo tranfparent, from the feathers 
being r o thinly fown, that when laid upon paper you may 
read through it as through a piece of the fineft gauze. 
The colour of the eye is not known; this being a Huffed 
fpecimen, not a living animal. 
aio. Motacilla pinc-pinc, the pinc-pinc. This is in 
fize and manners very like the wren; like that, it is in 
continual motion, bufily hopping from branch to branch 
among bullies and fhrubs; like that alfo, it carries its tail 
erect, and continues warbling while in fearch of food 
among heath and finaller plants, where it loves to forage 
and conceal itfelf. Befides its fimilarity to the wren, it 
rifes perpendicularly like the lark to a confiderable height 
from the ground or from fome bulh ; flapping its wings 
and tail very ftrongly in its afcent, and rifing by fliort 
leaps, uttering its note of pinc-pinc, pinc-pinc, pinc-pinc, 
the whole time. The children at the Cape call it the 
pinc-pinc from its note. If, when it gets to a certain height 
m the air, there fhould be any wind, the little bird is pre- 
fently carried out of fight; when it is calm, the bird, 
having reached the greateft height his ftrength will permit, 
defcends in a diagonal line, but does not clofe his wings 
in darting to the ground like the lark. The male and 
female are rarely l'een afunder ; the male only, it fhould 
be obferved, has the power of taking high flights; the 
female fometimes makes an effort, but feldom fucceeds in 
rifing more than eight or ten feet from the ground; nor 
does either endeavour to foar, except in the pairing 
feafon. 
The neft is admirably conftrufted. The foundation is 
laid, as ftrongly as poffible, among the fpines of a thorny 
buffi, or at the extremity of a branch of the mimofa-tree. 
This neft is commonly very large, but fome bigger than 
others, that is, as to the outer dimenfions, for within they 
are nearly all of the fame capacity, three or four inches 
in diameter, though the outward circumference is often 
more than a foot. It is made of the wool of plants only, 
and is either of a fnowy whitenefs, or brownifh, accord¬ 
ing to the quality of the down furniftied by the Ihrubs 
in each particular diftriCl. The neft is of a very irregular 
fhape outfide, according to the direction of the branches 
or twigs ; and to thefe it is fo ftrongly faftened, that It is 
impoffible to take it away without leaving much of it 
adhering, for it ufually embraces the whole circumference 
of the branch. If it appears mif-fhapen outfide, the infide 
makes amends for it; nor can we avoid being furprifed 
that fo fmall an animal, with no other inftruments than 
its bill, wings, and tail, could have heated and prefted its 
materials into a texture as clofe and fmooth as good linen 
cloth. At the upper part of the neft is the entrance-hole 
like a chimney ; and, what is very curious, at the bafe of 
this tube, or corridor, on the outfide, there is a landing- 
place, like a very little neft fixed againft the larger oife. 
It is generally underllood at the Cape, that this little neft 
is intended as a lodgment for the male, that he may watch 
while the female is hatching, who, being at the bottom 
of the neft with her eggs, cannot fee any danger from 
without. Sonnerat has defcribed the neft very well, but 
has given a very incorreft figure of it, which is the more 
ftrange, as he actually brought feveral of them with him 
to Europe; lie has afcribed it to the Cape titmoufe alfo, 
inftead of the bird it really belongs to ; and in this error 
lie has been followed by Buffon, and by all his numerous 
copyifts of courfe. The titmoule does indeed fometimes 
take poffelfion of this neft ; and hence the miftake. Vaillant 
however aflerts, that the intention afcribed to this fup- 
plementary neft is nothing but a popular error; for the 
male, he fays, fits as well as the female, and one never 
remains on the watch while the other is on the eggs; of 
this lie is certain, having watched the birds for whole 
mornings together, and feen at leaft an hundred fuch 
nefts. This little recefs, therefore, is nothing more than 
a landing-place or rooft, whence the bird may conveniently 
get into the hole and drop into the neft ; which otherwife 
would be attained with difficulty, and he could hardly 
hit that little aperture when on the wing ; and the neft is 
fo foft outfide, that, fliould he often perch upon it, it 
would be liable to damage, whereas this roofting-place 
is made as foiid and firm as the infide of the neft ; and 
fince, to give it this folidity, the bird has no other mode 
than to bean with his wings, and prefs it by turning his 
body over and over, it naturally acquires a fpherical form, 
like a little neft ; and this has led to the idea, by no means 
unnatural, that it was intended as a centry-box for the 
male. But this is not the cafe; for, when the mouth of 
the neft is fo fituated as to be eafily attained from a branch 
or twig, then this cell does not exill at all. Some of 
thefe nefts have two or three fuch landing-places ; and in 
fome they are not fliaped at all like a little neft. In ge¬ 
neral thefe birds, on returning to their neft, firft perch on 
fome neighbouring twig, then upon the edge of this little 
cell, and thence liead-foremoft through the hole into 
the neft. 
Thefe birds are not fhy, fo that you may come very 
near them; and they will go into their neft while one is 
looking on, efpecially in the wilder cantons, where the 
children never hunt them. Yet, fays Vaillant, I never 
could take them in the neft, not even in the night; becaufe 
the neft, though generally in fight, is fo well fixed amidft 
the thickets, that it is not poftible to get at it without 
making too much noife ; for it is never placed upon an 
i ululated 
