DENTIROSTRES.
TH E P IE D WAGTAIL.
1NSESSORES.
MOTACILL1DÆ-
Motacilla alba, White Wagtail, P enn. Brit. Zool. vol. i. p. 489.
,, J, >1 Mont. Ornith. Diet.
,, Pied ,, B ewick, Brit. Birds, vol. i. p. 231.
,, White ,, E lem. Brit. An. p. 73.
,, Pied ,, S elby, Brit. Ornith. vol. i. p. 251.
M ,) ,, J enyns, Brit. Vert. p. 114.
Yarrellii ,, ,, Gould, Birds of Europe, pt. ii. under the
name of alba in the description, and Yarrellii
in the General Index.
M otacilla. Generic Characters— Bill slender, subulate, straight, cari-
nated, angulated between the nostrils, emarginated at the tip ; the edges of
both mandibles slightly compressed inwards. Nostrils basal, lateral, oval, and
partly concealed by a naked membrane. Wings of moderate size; the first
quill-feather the longest, the second and third equal in length, and nearly as
long as the first; the tertials very long. Tarsus much longer than the middle
toe ; the outer toe of the three in front joined to the middle toe at its base ; the
claw of the hind toe sometimes elongated. Tail of twelve feathers, long, and
nearly even at the end.
I n a paper by Mr. Gould, published in the Magazine of
Natural History, in the volume for the year 1837, page
459, entitled “ Observations on some Species of the Genus
M o ta c illa the following paragraphs occur: “ While engaged
upon this tribe of birds during the course of my work on the
Birds of Europe, I was equally surprised to find that the
sprightly and Pied Wagtail, so abundant in our islands at all
seasons, could not be referred to any described species; and
that it was equally as limited in its habitat; for, besides the
British islands, Norway and Sweden are the only parts of
Europe whence I have been able to procure examples identical
with our bird, whose place in the temperate portions of
Europe is supplied by a nearly allied, but distinct species,
the true M. alba of Linnaeus ; which, although abundant in
France, particularly in the neighbourhood of Calais, has
never yet been discovered on the opposite shores of Kent, or
in any part of England. As, therefore, our bird, which has
always been considered as identical with the M. alba, proves
to be a distinct species, I have named it after, my friend
W. Yarrell, Esq. as a just tribute to his varied acquirements
as a naturalist.1’
“ The characters by which these two species may be readily
distinguished are as follows. The Pied Wagtail of
England, M. Yarrellii, is somewhat more robust in form,
and, in its full summer dress, has the whole of the head,
chest, and back of a full deep jet black ; while in the White
Wagtail, M. alba, at the same period, the throat and head
alone are of this colour, the back, and the rest of the upper
surface, being of a light ash-grey. In winter the two species
more nearly assimilate in their colouring; and this circumstance
has, doubtless, been the cause of their being hitherto
considered as identical: the black back of M. Yarrellii,
being grey at this season, although never so light as in M.
alba. An additional evidence of their being distinct, (but