MOTACILLA ALBA , Linn.
White Wag-tail.
Motocilla alba, Linn. Faun. Suec., p. 92.
_______ cinerea, Linn. Syst. Nat., tom. i. p. 961.
: - albeola, Pall. Zoog. Ross.-Asiat., tom. i. p. 506.
_______ albida, Gmel. edit. Linn. Syst. Nat., tom. i. p. 77.
Brissoni, Macgill. Man. Nat. Hist. O m , v o l i. p. 160.
In sia; this elegant species differs bat little from the Pied Wagtail, so common in our islands; but a
little attention to the colouring o f adult examples in their summer dress will, 1 am sure, convince any one,
however sceptical, th at the two birds are distinct, and not identical as has been affirmed. Had I seen
any variation in the colouring o f continental specimens o f MolaciUa alba, or an approach to M. YarreUi,
in the dark hue o f their backs, o r found any of our own birds assuming a delicate grey tint in th at part o f
their plumage, I should have come to a different conclusion. I t is true th at young examples o f M. Yarrelli
may be f o u n d w i t h a clouded grey upper snrfaee ; bnt I never saw one of so light a hue as a specimen o f the
same ag e o f M. alba, o r so coloured that I could not a t once unhesitatingly pronounce to which species
it belonged. In the investigation o f this matter I have been greatly aided by the study o f the Wagtails of
India, whose affinities ally them to each other in a similar way as those o f Europe ; among them I find the
differences which exist are constant, and that a similar law prevails with the MolacilUe of both countries.
Nothing like a cross appears ever to take place among these nearly allied s p e c i e s - a circumstance which,
indeed, rarely oceurs among birds in a state of nature. Wc have, then, but two alternatives—to keep them
all as one, o r separate them according to their specific characters, however slight they may be. I shall follow
those o f my contemporaries who adopt the latter view, not only in this g r o u p of birds, but in all others in which
Jfind certain characters are constant and unchanging.
T h e winter and summer changes o f plumage o f the M. alba are precisely similar to those which occur io M.
Yarrelli. Both have th e throat black in summer, and white in winter. I must remark, however, that the
fullv adult examples of the former, a t any period o f the year, more closely assimilate in colouring than do the
adotta o f the latter, the females o f which m ay b e known by their back being of a lighter hue than the males.
It cannot be denied th at there is a great difference in the habits and economy o f the two species, the M.
Yarrelli beiiw stationary, and the M. alba regularly migrating to Norway and Sweden in spring, and
returning to more southern climes in autumn. In those countries the inhabitants regard its arrival
with joy as the harbinger o f spring, and raise their hats .to the first example th at makes its ap p e aij.e e
there, ju s t as people do in this country to the first Swallow they observe. Norway and Sweden, ffow-
ever, do not constitute the limit o f its migration northwards; for we learn from Walkers ••Ornitiolo-
lomeal Notes of the Voyage of the Fox," published in the - Ib is ' for 1880, that it visits Greenland; and Mr.
Alfred Newton states, in his -Notes on the Ornithology o f Iceland,' th at - the White Wagtail\ ^ a a l / a
alba) is not quite so common as th e Wheatear, but from its more femiliar habits is more frequently observed,
arrives a t the end of April, leaves in September.'' Now is it not strange that a bird whose principal winter
home is the southern portion o f Europe and North Africa, should only pay an occasional visit to the British
Islands, and rarely, if ever, remain to breed therein, when we know th at it resorts for this purpose to countries
much further north ? Is it because it finds our islands already occupied by another species, and that there
is no room for a second, and that, if it were to remain, it would he an interloper and interfere with nature s
intentions? as would be the result if foreign species were to be i n t r o d u c e d into our island, o r any other
country where nature had not placed them. Efforts respecting the re-introduction o f such extirpated birds
as the Capercailzie and the Bustard are praiseworthy ; for they were formerly inhabitants of this country,
and the attempts will be successful provided its physical condition remains unaltered.
1 have never yet seen a true MolaciUa alba from India, its presence there appearing to be supplied by the
M . Dnkhm cmh. I t frequents, however, most o f the countries along the shores o f North Africa, bordering
the Mediterranean, and thence westward as far as the island o f Madeira. I t .» also generally dispersed
over e v e r, p art o f Europe, but is most numerous in France, Holland, and Germany. That it winters on the
European shores o f the Mediterranean is certain ; for I possess a specimen collected by my son, D r. Franklin
Gould, during th at season a t San Remo, in the M aritime Alps. The following note was penned by myself during
a visit to Norway in 1856 “ MolaciUa alba is numerous in all but the higher parts of the country ; is very
tame in its disposition, and a great favourite with the inhabitants ; not so sprightly in its actions as the Eng-
lisi. .!/. Yarrelli, and docs not throw up its tail so violently." In England I observed a beautiful freshly
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