238 
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS. 
common pied wagtails have spent their time for hours daily in flying 
up to the window-panes in this house, in search apparently, as we 
first supposed, of flies and other insects. It might have been expected 
that the birds would alight on the sash-frames and sills, to pick out 
any microscopic animalculse there might he in the crevices of the 
putty and frames, hut such is rarely the case. Asa rule the birds 
do not alight at all, but fly up against the centre and general sur¬ 
face of the panes, almost as if they did not expect to meet with 
any obstacle to entering the room ; they tap loudly on the glass and 
plant their feet on the surface, the wings being constantly on the 
move, then they fly off to reappear in the same manner the next 
minute. When the weather is wet, they are a positive nuisance, as 
the birds cover the plate-glass all over with muddy impressions of 
their feet, hut I have not the heart to have them destroyed. My 
gardener opines that “ They are mad, sir,” an opinion to which I 
give the weight which it deserves. We might also have antici¬ 
pated, I think, that the wagtails would have discontinued their 
pursuits during the winter months, when, if ever, there must be 
few, if any, insects of appreciable dimensions on the windows ; hut 
not so, day after day, throughout January, February, and March, 
when I have been here for short periods, I have seen this indus¬ 
trious pair at their work of dirtying my windows. Another some¬ 
what curious trait of character in these little creatures is that they 
manifestly prefer society. As members of my family move from 
room to room the birds habitually follow—selecting a window 
through which they can perceive the presence of their human 
friends. Perhaps some experienced ornithologist will explain 
whether there he anything exceptional in this case.— J. Henry 
James, Kingswood, Watford. 
