104 MOT 
213. Motacilla ceftiva, the yellow-poll: length four 
inches and a half: olive-green; head and all the under 
parts fine yellow, marked on the neck, breaft, and fides, 
with longitudical reddifti fpots; the upper parts and 
edges of the quills, olive-green; quills brown; the tail 
marked as the quills, but the two middle feathers dark 
brown ; legs black. This bird is found in America, and 
is migratory; it is feen in Canada during the fiummer 
only; but its chief refidence is in Guiana, and parts 
adjacent, where it performs the duties of incubation. Its 
note is faid to be very agreeable. 
/?. There is a variety, in which the body is brown 
above, inftead of olive-green. Inhabits Canada. 
214. Motacilla Carolinenfis, the Carolina yellow-poll : 
olive-green, beneath yellowilh: quill and tail-feathers 
brown, the lateral ones edged with yellow. Inhabits 
Hudfon’s Bay : fize of the preceding, and probably only 
a variety. 
215. Motacilla futoria, the tailor-bird. This is a very 
minute fpecies, being only three inches in length ; weight 
not more than ninety grains; the colour wholly of a light 
yellow. This inhabits molt parts of India; and is re¬ 
markable for nothing fo much as the neft, which is con- 
ftrufted in a very curious manner, being compofed of 
two leaves ; the one dead, which it fixes at the end of fome 
branch, to the fide of a living one, by fewing both to¬ 
gether in the manner of a pouch or purfe, and open at 
the top; it lines the infide with fine down; thus the 
brood is fecure from depredation of fnakes and monkeys, 
to which they might otherwife fall a prey. The eggs 
are white. 
216. Motacilla Caffra, the Caffrarian warbler: fize of 
the wagtail: head and back olive ; over the eyes a white 
ftreak; between the bill and eye black; throat and rump 
ferruginous; breaft and belly whitifti; quills brown; tail 
ferruginous; ends of the feathers brown. Inhabits the 
Cape of Good Hope, and Caffraria. 
217. Motacillagularis, the thick-necked warbler: above 
ferruginous : beneath white; chin, wings, and tail, black, 
pound in South America. 
218. Motacilla flavicauda, the yellow-tailed warbler: 
above olive ; beneath white ; crown and rump cinereous ; 
area of the wings and lateral tail-feathers yellow, tipped 
with brown ; the middle ones entirely brown. Inhabits 
America, and migrates. 
219. Motacilla tfcliecantfchia, the tfchecantfchia war¬ 
bler: above blackifh; beneath ferruginous; head dark 
brown ; nape whitifh; collar, and oblong fpot on the 
wings, white; back black. Native of Siberia. 
220. Motacilla melanopa, the black-chinned w'arbler; 
above bluifti afh, beneath yellow : chin and throat black ; 
eyebrows and three lateral tail-feathers on each fide white; 
the outmoft black on the exterior edge ; a white line 
from the gape through the neck; tail even. Inhabits 
Dauria. 
221. Motacilla Hudfonica, the Hudfon's-Bay warbler. 
A large fpecies: above rufty-brown, beneath whitifh ; 
neck beneath with dulky ftripes ; outmoft tail-feather 
white, fecond white edged within with black, third white 
on the difk. Bill and legs yellowilh-brown ; body above 
brown, the feathers edged with ferruginous; chin and 
throat pale ferruginous; tail blackifh, three inches long. 
Inhabits Hudfon’s Bay : fix inches long. 
MOT'ACISM, f. in grammar, a vowel following the 
letter m. Afh. 
MOTA'LA, a town of Sweden, in Eaft Gothland: 
twenty-one miles north-weft of Linkioping. 
MOTA'LA, a river of Sweden, in Eaft Gothland, 
which runs from the Wetter Lake to the Baltic twenty- 
two miles eaft of Nordkioping. 
MOTAMOC'ULO, a town on the weft coaft of Mada- 
Kafcar: eighteen miles fouth-eaft of Cape St. Andre. 
MOTA'TION, f. The aft of moving. 
MOTAZ'ALITES. See Moatazaute s, vol. xv. p. 599. 
M O T 
MOTCHANG', a town of Corea: eighteen miles fouth- 
weft of Yang-tchen. 
MOTCHIA'MA, an ifiand of Africa, in the kingdom 
of Angola, formed by the river Coanza; about four or 
five miles long, and one broad; producing variety of roots 
and herbs, and breeding plenty of cattle. On this ifiand 
were formerly fettled five or fix Portuguefe families, who 
carried on a confiderable trade in llaves. 
MOTE, a town of the county of Tyrol: nine miles 
fouth of Tyrol. 
MOTE, J'. [mo?, Sax. atomus, Lat.] A fmall particle 
of matter; any thing proverbially little.—The little motes 
in the fun do ever ftir, though there be no wind. Bacon's 
Nat. Iiift. 
You found his mote, the king your mote did fee; 
But I a beam do find in each of three. Shakcfpeare. 
MOTE, an obfolete form of the verb mujl and may; 
[moet, Dut.] Mull: 
In ftede of weping and praieres, 
Men mote give filver to the poore freres. Chaucer. 
However loth he were his way to flake. 
Yet mote he algates now abide. Spenfer. 
Might: 
Moll ugly fhapes, 
Such as dame Nature fell mote fear to fee. Spenfer. 
Within the poftern flood Argantes flout 
To refcue her, if ill mote her betide, Fairfax. 
MOTE, f. [mo?, gemo?, Sax, mot, Icel. mote, Su. 
Goth.] A meeting; an aflembly: ufed in compofition, 
as hurgmote, folkmote, See. 
Mote, or Mota, was alfo ufed for a fortrefs or caftle; 
as mota tie Wind for; and fometimes for the large ditch 
encompalTing the caftle, or manfion. See Moat. 
MO'TE-BELL, f. The bell which was ufed by the 
Englifh Saxons to call people together to the court. 
Leg. Ed. ConfeJ]'. c. 35. 
MOTECAZE', a town of Hindooftan, in Guzerat: 
forty-eight miles fouth of Janagur. 
MOT'ER, / See Motor. 
MOTERA'NA, a town of Naples, in the province of 
Otranto : fix miles fouth-weft of Lecce. 
MO'TET, f. [Fr. from mottetto, I tab] A kind of facred 
air ; a hymn.—Commending this fong’s delicate air, that 
motet's dainty air. Breti'er's Lingua. —Dr. Aldrich has 
adapted the mufic of two of their motets to Englifh words. 
Mafon on Church Mujich. 
Motet formerly fignified a ftudied compofition, enriched 
with all the beauties of the art; fuch were the motets of 
Baffani, at the end of the 17th and beginning of the 18th 
century. At prefent the name of motet is given to every 
facred compofition fet to Latin words; fuch as hymns, 
pfalms, or any fmall portion of Scripture in the Romifh 
church. As mot, in French, implies a phrafe, or ftrort 
fentence, fo motet implies a verfe or Ihort period taken 
from the facred writings, as the text ot what we (hould 
call an anthem; and, as the verfe or fentence is ufually 
Ihort, the too-frequent repetition of the words is fome¬ 
times objefted to in the conftruftion of motets. 
MOTH,/. [Sax. from matha, Goth, a worm or maggot.] 
A fmall infeil or worm, which eats clothes and hangings ; 
and afterwards becomes winged. See the article Pha- 
l;ena. —All the yarn Penelope fpun in Ulyfles’s abfence, 
did but fill Ithaca full of moths. Shakcfpeare's Conolanus. 
—Every foldier in the wars Ihould do as every fick man 
in his bed, walli every moth out of his confidence. Shakefp. 
Let moths through pages eat their way, 
Your wars, your loves, your praifes be forgot. 
And make of all an univerfal blot. Drydcn. 
To MOTH-EAT, v. a. To prey upon, as a moth preys 
upon a garment.—Ruin and negleft have fo moth-eaten 
her, [the town of Fettipore,] as at this day Ihe lies prof- 
trate. 
