WHITE WAGTAIL.
within four or five yards of whore I was inspecting their movements. This was especially the case after the
gale of Hay li.
Up to the present time I have not met with the nest of this species in the British Islands. The bird
itself has only been observed during April and Stay. G R E Y W A G T A I L.
MOT AC ILLA SVLPHÜREA.
I CANNOT call to mind a single instance of having noticed this species iu the Outer Hebrides. With the
exception of a pair or two about Golspie Lairg and Allnaharra, I never met with the Grey Wagtail further
north than the east coast of Ross-shire. In the neighbourhood of Tain these Wagtails were by no means
uncommon, most numerous perhaps in the spring and summer, though a few pairs were to he found in
certain localities during the winter. I repeatedly noticed these peculiarly clean and elegant-looking birds
frequenting the open drains and other repulsive spots that still remain iu some old-fashioned Highland
towns. They were to ho observed at most season actively snapping flies and other insects off the heaps
of filth and refuse liberally scattered in tlte public streets. In the town of Inverness a few pairs are to be
seen along the banks of the river. Stragglers now and then penetrate the thickly populated parts of the
town; hut their favourite haunts are the shores between the bridge and thu islands. These birds are also to
he met with in various parts along the canal towards the west.
In Perthshire the Grey Wagtail is common in many districts; 1 liud, however, in my notes that in
some localities they disappear during the winter, and do not show themselves till well on iu April. The
dust-heap at the back of a shooting-lodge that does not rejoice in (or rather, as prejudiced natives would
declare, suffer from) drains is the happy hunting-ground of these birds. As a rule they arc of a sociable
disposition, and appear to prefer quarters at no great distance from human habitations. In several of the
southern counties of Scotland these birds were noticed. On one occasion I detected a pair on the island of
Eidra, in the Firth of Forth; and they are also common during the autumn along the shore from North
Berwick to Dunbar. Along the hill-burns and river-banks in Cumberland, and also on the coast of
Northumberland, I remarked several pairs. During summer and autumn a lew may he met with in the wildest
parts of the rocky glens on the Yorkshire moors, through which tho hill-strearas make their way towards the
North Sea. In Norfolk I did not recognize the species, except in three or four instances where stragglers
made their appearance in autumn iu the neighbourhood of Breydon mudflats; these, doubtless, were working
their way south for the winter. To the best of my recollection, I never caught a glimpse of a single specimen
in the broad-district.
In Sussex, these birds are to be met with during autumn, winter, and early spring, frequenting streams
and river-banks. A few remain in tho neighbourhood of Brighton at these seasons, resorting to open drains
or pools, and in some instances visiting the gardens adjoining the town. In tho west of England I did not
penetrate their haunts during the breeding-season, though a few specimens were now and then observed in