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BUDYTES RAYI.
Yellow Wagtail.

Motacilla flava, Flem. Hist. of Brit. Anim., p. 74.
flaveola, Temm. Man. d’Orn., tom. ii. p. 183 (mec Pall.).
—_— flava Rayi, Schleg. Rev. Crit. des Ois. d’Eur., p. xxxviil.
Budytes Rayii, Bonap. Geog. and Comp. List. of Birds of Eur. and N. Amer., p. 18.

 

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How pleasing are the associations of spring ! Winter is over and gone ;” the strength of Boreas has been
expended in March ; floral May has appeared in maiden sweetness, and the southern migrants have one and
all responded to the invitation of the season, The earliest to appear are the Wheatear and the Chiffchaff,
to which succeed the Swallow and the other HMirundines; next the pompous parasitic Cuckoo and its
fostering sylvians (Sedge-Warblers, Reed-Wrens, and others) fall into their places ; they are followed by
the Yellow Wagtail, the Turtle, the Corncrake, and the Swift, each arrival being“in strict conformity with the
laws of migration. Flora’s guests being assembled, the naturalist revels in the delights of the festival. It will
be seen that the Yellow Wagtail is neither the earliest nor the latest of these spring visitants in making its
appearance ; the young wheat must, however, be sufficiently high to cover the ground, and the mead be
decked in maiden freshness, before it will come to us. We may have heard the craking note of the
Land-Rail or the voice of the Cuckoo, and the cheery song of the Whinchat may have attracted our notice,
yet the Yellow Wagtail is still absent; but the winds of the forthcoming night may waft it to our shores,
and the next morning we may see it tripping sprightly before us. Before starting, it has donned its
finest plumage, is now at its best, and has come to meet its bride, or rather to await her coming; she
will not be long ; and then coquetting and courting with her, and tilting and battling with other males, will
be the order of the day, now by the river-side, and anon in the corn-field, or in the mead among the
buttercups, with the colour of which the rich hue of its yellow breast vies in beauty. These displays and
many other equally interesting actions of birds are seldom seen, except by the student of nature ever
watchful to increase his knowledge of her handiworks.

We who reside in England should be extremely proud of the beautiful Yellow Field-Wagtail ; for ours is
almost the only country in which it passes the summer. Why this should be, it is not easy to say ; but such is
really the case ; near as is the Continent, it is rarely found in any part of it, its place in the western portion being
supplied by the Budytes flava, in the central by B. cinereocapilla, and in the eastern by the B. melanocephala :
all three are strictly migratory, wintering in Africa, spending the summer months in more temperate and even
in northern regions, some of them proceeding to very high latitudes, and there affecting hills of great elevation,
such as the Dovre and other mountains in Norway and Lapland ; our species, however, is rarely found to the
northward of Britain. I have, it it true, a specimen from Heligoland ; but that is the most northern locality
from which I have seen an example. That it is not identical with the species to which Pallas gave the name
of Motacilla campestris, I think probable, and I have therefore omitted that name from the synonyms given
above. Strange to say, this bird is very rarely seen in Ireland; when there, according to Mr. Templeman, it
is more common about Lough Neagh than elsewhere—‘ an observation,” remarks Thompson, ‘‘ which, though
correct, requires explanation to prevent an erroneous inference. About the lake, generally it is not common ;
nor have I been able during frequent visits to various parts of its shores to meet with it, except on one
occasion, the 3rd of August 1846, when visiting its limited haunt at the north-west extremity of this great
sheet of water, about Toome. Several were then seen at the side of the river Bann, adjoining Toome bridge,
and the following day ten (old and young) appeared at the margin of the lake below the bridge. Having
known it to be seen here in different years (perhaps forty have elapsed since Mr. Templeman observed it), I
conclude that the bird is an annual visitant, and cannot but imagine that it will yet be found regularly at
some other favourite localities in the island.”

Macgillivray informs us that it is also rare in Scotland, and almost absent in the northern part of that
country. St. John remarks that it is much more rare in Morayshire than the Grey Wagtail, and states that
he only recollected seeing it two or three times. In Cornwall, according to Mr. Rodd, it is seen for a few
days on its first arrival, and again in autumn on its return. Mr. Stevenson says it is a common summer
visitant to, and breeds in, Norfolk, «‘ One can scarcely think of this beautiful bird,” says he, “ without calling
to mind the luxuriant herbage of our meadows and grass-fields during the spring months. How brilliant
are the colours of the male, in bis nuptial dress, as he picks his way amongst a profusion of buttercups,
assimilating so closely to his own tints that his actions only betray his whereabouts. On their first
arrival we find them in busy little flocks on the Denes and grassy slopes by the sea-shore, graceful in