Wagtail

“ Early in May you may have the good fortune to see this little bird of the woods strutting in and out of the garden shrubbery with a certain mock dignity, like a child wearing its father's boots. Few birds can walk without appearing more or less ridiculous, and however gracefully and prettily it steps, this amusing little wagtail is no exception. ”

“ The Yellow Wagtail, whose plumage in the breeding season equals in brightness that of the Canary, is one of the most attractive of all our summer migrants. When running over the pastures and fields of sprouting wheat, the olive-green colour of the dorsal plumage renders it very inconspicuous, but when perched upon some rail, or clod upon the bare fallow, the bright yellow of the under-parts contrasts vividly with the duller surroundings, and at once attracts the attention of the passer-by. Its favourite haunts are the marshes and water-meadows where cattle are pastured. ”

“ They all pick up feathers or grass, and hop from side to side of their mates, as if saying, "Come, let us play at making little houses." The wagtail has shaken her young quite off, and has a new nest. She warbles prettily, very much like a canary, and is extremely active in catching flies, but eats crumbs of bread-and-milk too. ”

“ One can scarcely walk along the banks of a British stream in spring or summer without noticing a pretty and graceful bird, sometimes running along near the edge of the water, and stopping every now and then to pick off an insect from the herbage, and sometimes rising into the air to catch a fly or gnat. And one can easily understand why the name wagtail has been given to it, for no matter whether it is flying or running, its tail is never still. ”

“ Caran-cheann-air-chrith, ‘little friend of the quaking-grass,’ is one of the Gaelic names of the wagtail, perhaps given to it because of a like tremulous movement, as though invisible wings of gossamer shook ever in a secret wind. ”

“ One always thinks of these dainty feathered creatures as females. It would seem quite natural to call the wagtail "lady-bird," if that name had not been registered by a diminutive podgy tortoise-shaped black and red beetle.
So shallow is the wide stream in the village that a little girl of about seven came down from a cottage, and to cool her feet waded out into the middle, and there she stood for some minutes on a low flat stone, looking down on her own wavering image broken by a hundred hurrying wavelets and ripples. ”

“ The grey wagtail and the goldfinch, in small numbers, both beautiful birds, were wintering here, but they could not compare with those transfigured yellowhammers I had seen.
As for the vulgar sparrow, nothing—not even the miracle-working sun—could make him brilliant or beautiful to look at, and I have indeed acquired the habit of not looking and not seeing the undesired thing. ”

“ It would be tedious to dwell on the pretty part which the tail plays in the courtships of sparrows and pigeons, or on the sprightly attitudes by which birds of all sorts let off their spirits when shower and sunshine have overfilled their hearts with gladness. But birds twitch their tails constantly, without meaning anything by it. The ceaseless wagging of a wagtail is a mere habit of cheerfulness, like the twirling of her thumbs by an idle Scotswoman. The long tail is there and something must be done with it. ”

“ October brings the slender gray wagtail, pied ash colour and white, with a large black velvet gorget. The charming bird, running and wagging its tail, follows the ploughman almost under the horses’ feet, picking up insects in the newly turned furrow. About the same time comes the lark,—first in little companies thrown out as scouts, then in countless bands which take possession of cornfield and fallow, where abounds their usual food, the seeds of the Setaria. ”

“ The pied wagtail Motacilla lugubris is a common and generally distributed species in the British Islands, and common throughout northern Europe, but migrating southwards over a relatively narrow range in winter. The white wagtail, M. alba of Linnaeus, has a wide range in Europe, Asia and Africa, visiting England almost yearly, and chiefly differing from the ordinary British in its lighter-coloured tints—the cock especially having a clear grey instead of a black back. ”

“ Day scarcely begins, scarcely does the stable-bell ring out for the herds, but the wagtail appears to conduct, and frisk and hover around them. She mingles with the cattle, and familiarly accompanies the hind. She knows that she is loved both by man and the beasts, which she defends against insects. ”

“ The Gray Wagtail visits these upland streams for the purpose of rearing its young. Not every wanderer by the water-side is fortunate enough to get a peep at this bird’s domestic arrangements. It has, fortunately perhaps, a happy way of concealing its nest under some large stone or overhanging rock, or in a quiet nook, not necessarily in a secluded spot, but often close by the wayside, where the very audacity of the selection proves a source of safety. ”

“ Suddenly she throws herself, with a jump and a bound, into the air, to catch the circling gnat; and now should be seen the beating of wings, the darting hither and thither, the balancing and the shakes and the allegretto that her tail keeps time to. Nothing can surpass it in lightness. In fine, of all the little feathered people, none, except the swallow, is more graceful, fuller of movement, more adroit or insinuating, than the wagtail. ”

“ What an immense difference between the force of a kite, a buzzard or a hawk, and such small birds as the meadow-wagtail; and yet these little birds, by their common action and courage, prove superior to the powerfully-winged and armed robbers! In Europe, the wagtails not only chase the birds of prey which might be dangerous to them, but they chase also the fishing-hawk "rather for fun than for doing it any harm;" ”

“ The pied wagtail is probably not more abundant in this country than the yellow wagtail, but is far better known, being a more generally diffused species, often seen in the neighbourhood of houses where the yellow wagtail never comes. And if there be a pied wagtail anywhere within range of sight, it is sure to be seen and recognised, for in its black-and-white plumage it is the most conspicuous small bird in this country, not excepting the kingfisher, snow-bunting and blackbird. ”

“ Clyne. The true Grey Wagtail is a yellow bird with a black throat and very long tail. [Surely British ornithologists can find a more descriptive and truer name than Grey Wagtail for Motacilla boarula. If confusion occurs amongst ordinary observers as to names, it is as often the fault of the naturalists who misapplied the names in the first instance as not.] In September a further rush of the same young Pied Wagtails observable on the 10th at Langness—a flock seen—and a dozen at Rhinns of Islay on 7th; and a few at Barra Head and one at Dhuheartach on Sept. 1st. ”

“ WAGTAIL. A small bird of the European family Motacillidæ, characterized by slenderness of form and a long narrow tail, which the bird incessantly wags up and down, with a jerking motion. The wagtails run with great speed, and frequent the margins of rivers and lakes, inundated fields, and other moist grounds, feeding almost entirely upon insects and worms. They make their nests on the ground, among moist herbage, or in stony places. One species, the yellow wagtail (Budytes flara) , occurs abundantly in Alaska in summer, migrating to and from Asia ”

“ M. melanope, Pall. Grey Wagtail.—A pair of Grey Wagtails appeared on Waith Beck on Sept. 24th; Oct. 4th, a single bird at one of the fish-ponds at Grainsby, and on 18th several on one of the marsh-drains near the coast.
M. raii (Bonap.) . Yellow Wagtail.—One young bird on Aug. 9th. Several on Aug. 28th and Sept. 4th. Abundant on the 9th, and from this date they became gradually scarcer until the 22nd, after which I saw no more. All were young birds.
Anthus trivialis (Linn.) . Tree-Pipit.—One shot in a hedge near the sea at North Cotes on Oct. 4th. ”

“ Hedge-Sparrow (Accentur modularis) .—Quiet, mottled bird, to be seen everywhere.
Pied Wagtail (Motacilla lutor) .—Most of these stay with us all winter, but one March evening at least forty-three descended on the lawn at Elderfield, doubtless halting in their flight from southern lands. Most winning birds they are, with their lively hop and jerking tails. Dish-washer is their Hampshire name.
Grey Wagtail (Motacilla boarula) .—This pretty bird is really partly yellow. It is not very frequent here, but is sometimes found on the Itchen bank; likewise the nest in a reedy meadow. ”

“ The wagtail is a house-bird, making the houses or cattle-pens its centre, and remaining about them for months. There is not a farmhouse in the south of England without its summer pair of wagtails, not more than one pair as a rule, for they are not gregarious till winter; but considering that every farmhouse has its pair, their numbers must be really large.
Where wheatears frequent, their return is very marked; they appear suddenly in the gardens and open places, and cannot be overlooked. Swallows return one by one at first, and we get used to them by degrees. ”

“ Another and daintier species, however, is almost his equal in this respect, and that is the Gray Wagtail. This bird is more susceptible to the changing seasons, and at the approach of winter deserts the higher streams altogether, or comes down to the lower and more sheltered reaches of others. The Gray Wagtail is a familiar bird along all our Yorkshire and Derbyshire streams and rivers. We look for him quite as a matter of course when we reach [25] the rocks, and the alder and birch and mountain-ash trees, just as we expect there to find the Dipper. ”

“ The tail of this bird is also an inch shorter, and has only two feathers on each side, partly white. The under parts of the male are of a much fuller yellow, and the upper parts never possess any of the cinereous colour.
The spring wagtail visits us about the time the other departs, and migrates again in September. It frequents arable land, especially in the more champaign parts; sometimes uncultivated ground interspersed with furze; it is also partial to bean fields; in all such places it breeds, and does not seem to regard water so much as either of the other species. ”

“ Pied wagtails are no respecters of persons as far as other birds are concerned; I have seen a single wagtail at one time pursuing a peewit, at another a sandpiper, and their encounters with swallows on the grass are most amusing to watch. When the swallows are flying low the wagtails will deliberately fly at them and even for a little way after them. ”

“ It is a vivacious little bird to watch, and seems to have a high opinion of its own superior intelligence; while the rapid up-and-down movements of the tail, which appears to be ever in motion, is a habit which we are more apt to associate with members of the Wagtail family.
I have noticed in clutches of eggs of this species, that when all the eggs have rust-coloured specks on the surface, one of the number generally has such specks much more strongly pronounced than the rest. ”

“ The swing of the long tail feathers in the true wagtail is entirely consequent on its motion, not impulsive of it—the tremulous shake is after alighting. But the robin leaps with wing, tail, and foot, all in time, and all helping each other. Leaps, I say; and you check at the word; and ought to check: you look at a bird hopping, and the motion is so much a matter of course, you never think how it is done. But do you think you would find it easy to hop like a robin if you had two—all but wooden—legs, like this? ”

“ Top of head, lore, nape, back, and scapulars greenish olive; a bright yellow streak over the eye; lower parts sulphur-yellow. Length, six inches.
The yellow wagtail is a summer visitor, arriving at the end of March or early in April in this country, and is found very nearly in all parts of England, and is also common in the southern counties of Scotland; farther north it is rare, and in Ireland it is only known to breed in one locality. On its arrival it frequents open downs and sheepwalks, pastures, commons, and arable lands, more especially fields where spring sowing is in progress. ”

“ In the spring of 1878 I found the Grey Wagtail nesting in the bank of the Eye Brook, close to Skeffington Wood; the young were fledged by the end of the first week in May, and there was an addled egg left in the nest, on which, by the way, I one morning discovered the hen-bird sitting. This was the first verified instance of the species breeding in Leicestershire ”

“ I could hardly avoid the conclusion that these birds had collected in view of migration. The Gray Wagtail, Anderegg tells me, is never to be seen here 187 in the winter, and the white species seldom; but as to what becomes of them I am unable as yet to be sure. Perhaps they simply move down the river into the lower and warmer districts of western and northern Switzerland; just as in England also there is a general movement of Wagtails in the autumn from the more mountainous districts into the regions of plain and meadow. ”

“ As the Grey Wagtail, M. melanope, is commonly known in Ireland as the "Yellow Wagtail," many mistakes are made in confusing the two species, and I have often been told of the Yellow Wagtail nesting in certain localities; but on further enquiry as to where the nests were found, the description of the sites always proved the nests to be those of the Grey Wagtail. ”

“ H.H. Slater, in his recently published 'Manual of the Birds of Iceland,' curiously enough, has never heard this name used, notwithstanding his fifteen years' experience in Iceland. Músarrindill means "Mouse-bird."
White Wagtail, Motacilla alba. (Maríu-erla, &c.) .—Common almost everywhere, and the only species of Wagtail to be found in Iceland. I procured a perfect series: adult males and females; first, second, third, and fourth stages of the young; the change from summer to winter plumage; nest and young; nest and eggs; and, a great rarity—nest with white eggs. ”