Part 29

THE GREY WAGTAIL MOTACILLA MELANÓPE

Summer--head and back bluish grey; a pale streak above the eyes; throat black; under parts bright yellow; tail very long. Winter--chin and throat whitish, passing into yellow. Length seven inches and three-quarters. Eggs bluish white, speckled with dark grey.

Grey Wagtail is not a very happy name for this bird, as the bright yellow of its neck and breast are far more conspicuous than the more sober grey of the head and back; yet, as there are other claimants for the more appropriate names 'Yellow', and Greyheaded, the young observer must be cautious while reading the descriptions of the several members of the family, or he may possibly fall into error. The Grey Wagtail is among the most elegant and graceful of British birds, and in delicacy of colouring is surpassed by few. Its habits are much the same as those of the Pied Wagtail, but it is even lighter and more active in its movements. It is less frequently observed away from water than that species, and though, like it, not altogether a permanent resident in England, it visits us at the opposite season, coming in autumn, and retiring northwards in spring. It does not seem often to go so far north as Inverness-shire, but is regularly seen about Edinburgh in winter; and, on the other hand, it breeds yearly in the southern counties of England during summer, as on the streams which flow from Dartmoor. This partial migration seems to be characteristic of the family, and is difficult to account for. Why out of a certain number of birds of the same species, some should annually travel southwards, to supply the place of individuals belonging to an allied species, who have travelled yet further to the south, and why, on the reappearance of the latter in spring, the first should return to their northern haunts, are questions more easily asked than answered.

The Grey Wagtail has been repeatedly observed to indulge in a fancy which might well obtain for it the name of 'window-bird'. The first recorded instance occurs in an early number of the Zoologist, where it is stated, that every morning for a period of between three and four months, from the beginning of October to the end of January, a Grey Wagtail came to the window of a country house as soon as the blinds were drawn up, and darted against the panes of glass, pecking with its beak as if it saw some object. It would then retire, and after a pause repeat the operation, but from what motive no one could conjecture. A lady writes to me from Dewlish House, Dorsetshire: 'We are constantly being disturbed by a yellow-breasted Water-Wagtail, which comes tapping at the windows or skylights, from the first streak of light till evening. What may be his object no one can say. It is too cold at present (March) for flies or spiders, and, had there been any hybernating there he would have eaten them long ago, he comes so frequently. When, on going upstairs, or when sitting down in my room, I hear this loud repeated tapping, it is vain for me to open the window and try to entice him in with crumbs; he does not even notice them. This morning he woke me at about four o'clock. You would have said, 'Some one rapping at my window as a signal that I must get up. An old servant tells me, "Ah, 'twere just the same last spring, when the family were in London; they say that it do mean something."'

The Grey Wagtail does not commonly build its nest in the southern counties of England, although instances have occurred. It prefers hilly and rocky districts. More frequently it repairs in spring to the north of England and south of Scotland, and builds its nest on the ground, or in the hole of a bank, or between large stones, and never at any great distance from the water. It is composed of stems and blades of grass, mixed with moss and wool, and lined with wool, hair and feathers.

THE BLUE-HEADED (OR GREY-HEADED) WAGTAIL MOTACILLA FLAVA

Top of the head, lore, and nape lead-grey; over the eye a white streak; scapulars, back, and upper tail-coverts greenish olive, tinged with yellow; chin white, in the young male yellow; under parts bright yellow. Length six inches and a half. Eggs mottled with yellow, brown, and grey.

This, one of the common Yellow Wagtails of the Continent, is a rare visitor in this country. Its habits, nest, and eggs, closely resemble those of the next species. It is the Bergeronette printanière ('Little shepherdess of the Spring') of the French, a pretty name, suggested by the habit, common to all the genus, of resorting to sheepfolds for the sake of feeding on the flies with which such places abound.

YELLOW WAGTAIL MOTACILLA RAII

Top of the head, lore, nape, back, and scapulars pale olive; over the eye a streak of bright yellow; chin yellow; lower parts of the same colour. Length six inches and a half. Eggs whitish, mottled with yellow, brown, and grey.

Ray's Wagtail, the third of the Yellow Wagtails placed on the list of British birds, is, next to the Pied, the best known species, being a regular summer visitor, and everywhere tolerably common. It is said by most authors to frequent the water rather less than the other species, and to prefer fields of peas and tares, open downs and sheep pastures; but, as far as my own observation goes, I have seen it far more frequently near water than elsewhere, and if I wished to observe its habits, I should repair to the nearest canal or river, in the certain expectation of seeing a pair hunting among the aquatic weeds for their food, running along the sandy or muddy shore, perching on the broad leaves of the water-lily, and chasing each other with dipping flight through the air. I am inclined to believe that, though it may have often been noticed in dry pastures and stony places, yet that when so circumstanced, it is only engaged on an exploring expedition from its watery haunts; for it is scarcely possible that a bird so thoroughly at home in a weedy pond, can ever be long absent from such a locality from choice. Its habits are precisely similar to those of the Pied Wagtail, except that it visits us in the summer exclusively, retiring southwards in autumn. It may often also be seen in company with that species. Besides its call-note, which consists of two shrill notes, the second of which is a musical tone lower than the first, it has a short and exceedingly sweet song, something like that of the Redbreast when at its best. This I have heard it utter whilst it was perched on a low bush overhanging a pond. Its nest was probably somewhere in the neighbourhood, for when disturbed it flew to a short distance only, alighted on another twig and repeated its warble again. This was in the first week in May, and is the only occasion on which I ever heard it really sing. The nest resembles that of the Pied Wagtail, and is placed on the ground, usually in pea-fields. The popular name Washerwoman belongs to the whole family. The corresponding term, Lavandière, is also found in France, and was given from the fanciful similarity between the beating of the water with its tail by the bird while tripping along the leaves of a water-lily, and the beating of linen in the water by washerwomen, a custom still existing in France, and some parts of England and Ireland.

THE TREE PIPIT ANTHUS TRIVIÁLIS

Hind claw shorter than the toe, and curved so as to form the fourth of a circle; upper parts ash, tinged with olive, the centre of each feather dark brown; a double band across the wing, formed by the yellowish white tips of the lesser and middle wing-coverts; throat and region of the eye dull white; breast reddish yellow, spotted, and at the sides lightly streaked with dark brown. Length six inches. Eggs dull white, variously mottled with purple brown.

The name Titlark is popularly applied to three common species of birds which were formerly placed in the same family with the Skylark. Modern ornithologists now place them in a distinct genus, the characters of which differ from those of the true Lark in that the beak is more slender and slightly notched near the point, the first three quills are nearly of the same length and the outer toe is united with the middle one as far as the first joint. In colouring, however, in general form, and, to a slight extent, in habits, namely, in the mode of feeding and nesting, there is much similarity between the genera; but in the power of soaring, the Lark, though imitated by one species, is unrivalled. The old name Titlark, then, must be understood to be merged in the more distinctive title, Pipit, given to three common kinds which severally frequent trees, meadows, and the sea-shore. Pipits are more allied to the Wagtail family than with Larks. The Tree Pipit alone is a migratory species, arriving in this country towards the end of April, and leaving us in the autumn. It is common in most of the wooded counties of England, except the extreme west and north, but attracts little notice, being unostentatious in size and colour, while its song, except by the practised ear, is likely to be lost in the general melody of the woods. Yarrell's succinct account of its most characteristic habit is so comprehensive and accurate, that the observer who wishes to make its acquaintance can scarcely fail by its help to identify the bird on its very first occurrence. 'The male has a pretty song, perhaps more attractive from the manner in which it is given, than the quality of the song itself. He generally sings while perched on the top of a bush, or one of the upper branches of an elm-tree standing in a hedgerow, from which, if watched for a short time, he will be seen to ascend with quivering wing about as high again as the tree; then, stretching out his wings and expanding his tail, he descends slowly by a half-circle, singing the whole time, to the same branch from which he started, or to the top of the nearest other tree; and so constant is this habit with him, that if the observer does not approach near enough to alarm him, the bird may be seen to perform the same evolution twenty times in half an hour, and I have witnessed it most frequently during and after a warm May shower.' Its descent to the ground is generally performed in the same manner. Its food consists of insects and small seeds, for which it searches among the grass or newly-ploughed ground, with the walking and running gait of the Wagtails, but without their incessant waving movement of the tail. The nest, which is placed on the ground, under a tuft of grass or low bush, and very frequently on the skirt of a wood or copse, is composed of dry grass and small roots, and lined with finer grass and hair. The eggs are usually five in number, and vary so much, that extreme specimens would scarcely seem to belong to the same bird. In the predominating brown hue a tinge of red is, however, always perceptible, and by this it may be distinguished from the egg of the Meadow Pipit. The Tree Pipit is not seen in Ireland, or it is as yet unrecorded there.

'Amongst our land birds', says Hewitson, 'there is no species the eggs of which present so many, or such distinct varieties, as those of the Tree Pipit. No one would at first believe them to be eggs of the same species; and it was not till I had captured the bird upon each of the varieties, and also received them from Mr. H. Doubleday, similarly attested, that I felt satisfactorily convinced upon the subject.'

Tree Pipit

Yellow Hammer

Rock Pipit

Meadow Pipit

Woodlark

Shore Lark

Skylark ]

THE MEADOW PIPIT ANTHUS PRATENSIS

Hind claw longer than the toe, slightly curved; upper parts ash, tinged with olive, especially in winter, the centre of each feather dark brown; under parts reddish white, streaked with dark brown. Length five inches and three-quarters. Eggs dull white, variously spotted and mottled with brown.

It may be thought at the first glimpse that a difference in the comparative length of the hinder claws of two birds so much alike as the Tree and Meadow Pipits is scarcely sufficient to justify a specific distinction; but when it is considered that a short and curved claw enables a bird to retain a firm grasp of a small twig, while a long and almost straight one is best adapted for perching on the ground, it will appear at once that, however similar two birds may be in all other respects, yet the slight one in which they differ is the point on which hinges a complex scheme of habits. So the Tree Pipit frequents wooded districts, and passes a large portion of its time aloft among the branches, while the Meadow Pipit finds its happiness on the ground. It is not, indeed, confined to the unwooded country, for no bird is more generally diffused, and the nests of both species, constructed of similar materials, may frequently be found in the border of the same field, yet it often finds a home in wild, barren districts, frequented by no other small birds but the Wheatear and Ring Ouzel. I have even more than once seen it alight on a tree, but this was apparently as a resting-place on which it perched previously to descending to roost among the heath on a common. Had I not been near, it would most probably have dropped at once to its hiding-place as some of its companions did. From its attachment to commons and waste lands, the Meadow Pipit has received the names of Ling-bird and Moss-cheeper. In winter it is more abundant in the plains, where it may often be seen in small parties searching for seeds and insects in recently-ploughed lands, well marked by its running gait and the olive tinge of its upper plumage. Its song, which is not frequently heard, is a short and simple strain, sometimes uttered on the ground, but more generally, while rising or falling, at no great height in the air. Its nest is only to be distinguished from that of the Tree Pipit by the dark brown hue of the eggs which are somewhat similar to those of the Skylark, only smaller. 'The egg of the Cuckoo is more frequently deposited and hatched in the nest of the Meadow Pipit than in that of any other bird,' says Yarrell. It is interesting to know, now, that this bird--an immoral creature we might call it--which never keeps to one mate, deposits its eggs in the nests of about 145 species, taking the world over.

THE ROCK PIPIT ANTHUS OBSCÚRUS

Hind claw about equal in length to the toe, much curved; upper plumage greenish brown, the centre of each feather darker brown; a whitish streak over the eye; under parts dull white, spotted and streaked with dark brown. Length six inches and three-quarters. Eggs dull white, mottled with dingy brown.

Except that it is somewhat larger, the Rock Pipit is very similar in form and colour to the last species. It is, however, far more local, being confined exclusively to the sea-shore, but there of very common occurrence. Every one familiar with the sea-coast, must have observed it moving through the air with a jerking flight, occasionally alighting on a rock or on the beach near the line of high-water mark, searching busily for marine insects. In spring, it frequently takes little flights inland, never to a great distance, repeating its simple song all the while, and chasing as if in sport some one or other of its companions. In winter, it seems to act as a guide to the smaller land birds, who, finding their supply of food diminished or altogether cut off by the frost, are attracted by its movements, and join it in searching for insects among the unfrozen