Dodd’s mill, affording the pair protection for many years ; further up the stream,

ne Elizabethan Latimers, I noticed another pair, which
5 .
It was truly pleasing to me

the beautiful garden at Mr.
at Elliot’s mill, immediately above the charm ) ;
summered and doubtless bred there, but I did not succeed in finding ie nest. a4 Ee
to see these elegant little birds suddenly pitch upon the gravel-walk before me, an y ce an

t I never saw the Yellow Wagtail im the Chenies Valley, at least never

ir y - [may here remark tha re
ne ' d, while the Pipit-like Budytes love the more

near the water, a situation always resorted to by
” the fields of wheat, or the b
a S . 2 ~ Sy “> © wits j » 2 o S. é

has recorded in the ‘ Zoologist’ for 1867 several instances of the Grey Wagtail breeding in Sussex, and
mentions having found a nest and young in a sandbank by the side of a waterfall near Petworth.
1 6c Be

‘Daring the last two months,” writes Mr. Gatcombe in a letter dated June 15, 1863, I have frequently

: . ° ° st ? a §

visited our trout-streams, and thus have had ample opportunities for observing the Grey Wagtail, us of

the banks of the under-mentioned rivers—the Plym, Yealm, and Erme in

In two instances I was successful in finding a nest and young ;

the present bir
uttercups of the grass-fields. Mr. W. Jeffery, Jun.,

dry and open ‘‘ campagna,

which were building on or near
Devonshire, and the Notter in Cornwall.
one of these would have formed a beautiful and interesting object for your pencil. It was placed on a kind

of shelf on the face of a slate rock by the side of the river Plym, and was shaded by the overhanging leaves
of a Foxglove in full bloom, by the stem of which one side of the nest was supported. It was full oH young
nearly able to fly, which stared most intently at me with their beautiful bright dark eyes in silent
wonderment, while I made a hasty sketch of the interesting little group. I did not disturb the nest in
either instance. I may add that this bird has greatly increased in numbers in the neighbourhood of
Plymouth during the last few years. A friend of mine tells me that at Kingsbridge, in Devonshire, a pair
have built their nest this season by the side of a mill, and that the birds, when flying in or out of it, have to
dodge the water-wheel as it goes round. It would be interesting to observe how the youngsters will make
their escape.”

Macgillivray informs us that the flight of the Grey Wagtail “is rapid and performed in large curves.
When alighting it spreads out its tail, displaying the lateral white feathers, which then become very
conspicuous ; and when standing it vibrates its body continually, so that the tail, which it now and then
spreads by a sudden jerk, is always in motion. It is very lively and active, walks in the prettiest manner
imaginable, moving its head backward and forward at each step, runs with great speed, and, although not
very shy, is not insensible to danger from the proximity of man. Its food consists of insects of various
kinds, which it usually picks from the ground, although it often performs a short aerial excursion in pursuit
of them.”

The nest is usually placed on the ground, but is sometimes found in a hole in a bank or a wall, or between
large stones. It is composed of stems and blades of dry grass, moss, and wool, and lined with wool, hair,
and feathers. The eggs are greyish white, faintly spotted all over with greyish brown.

I have been constrained to give two illustrations of this favourite bird, in order to show the difference in
the colouring of its plumage in summer and winter. In the second Plate it will be seen that the birds have
sullied-white throats, which feature may be characteristic of the old birds that have completed their winter
moult, or of young birds of the year. In September or October, and during the winter they may be seen
in this dress in all the southern portions of the British Islands, either gaily jerking their great tail on the
top of a stone on the gravelly strand of a river, or the beams of a lock or weir, not unfrequently searching
for insects in the little rills of water which feed our Thames, or the sewage from the houses situated on the
banks of the river, the blackest and filthiest spot being most generally selected; and strikingly does this
bird with its grey yellow rump and elegant contour contrast with the situation. Many persons when looking
at it believe that they see before them the migratory F ield-Wagtail (Budytes flava), forgetting that that
bird at this season is far beyond the seas, in the genial climate of Africa.

The first Plate represents a male and female in their summer dress, and two young birds, of the natural
size. The second Plate ; irdj .
ate represents the bird in the autumnal and winter plumage ;

: ee the white-flowered plant
in the former is Ranunculus fluviatilis ; the red-flowered one in the |

atter is the Polygonum amphibium.