_Motacilla alba_, LINN. Syst. Nat. 12th ed. 1766, 331.—KEYS. & BLAS.
Wirb. Europ. 1840, xlix, and 174.—DEGLAND, Orn. Europ. I, 1849,
433.—REINHARDT, Ibis, 1861, 6 (Greenland).—NEWTON,
Baring-Gould’s Iceland, 1863, App. (“rather plentiful”).—BAIRD,
Rev. Am. B. 1864, 152.
Figure: GOULD, Birds Europe, 143.
[Line drawing: _Motacilla alba._
28489]
SP. CHAR. (9,410 ♂, Nürnberg). Forehead as far back as above the eyes,
with sides of head and neck, white; the remaining portion of head and
neck above and below to the jugulum, black; the rest of under parts
white. Upper parts ashy-gray, including rump; the upper tail-coverts
tinged with black. Wings with two conspicuous bands and the outer
edges of the secondaries white. Tail-feathers black; the outer two
white, edged with black internally. Bill and legs black. Tip of wing
formed by outer three primaries; the distance between the third and
fourth about one third that between the fourth and fifth. Tarsi
lengthened; claw small; hind toe and claw shorter than the middle, its
claw short, considerably curved, less than the toe alone; lateral toes
nearly equal. Length, 7.30; wing, 3.45; tail, 3.90; bill from nostril,
.37; tarsus, .86; hind toe and claw, .50.
HAB. Continental Europe, rarer in England; Iceland; Greenland (only
two specimens seen); Siberia; Syria; Nubia, etc.
_Motacilla yarrelli_, a closely allied species, by some considered a
variety only, differs in having the rump black, the ashy of the back
glossed with blackish, and with the black edging of the lateral
tail-feathers broader.
[Illustration: _Motacilla alba._]
HABITS. The common White Wagtail of Europe claims a place in the North
American fauna as an occasional visitant of Greenland, where in two
instances single specimens have been procured. It is found in all
portions of the European Continent, from the islands of the
Mediterranean as far north as the Arctic regions. It appears in Sweden
in April, and leaves there in October. Mr. Gould states also that it
is found in the northern portions of Africa, and in the highlands of
India. It also occurs, though less frequently, in England, where it is
replaced by a local race, or an allied species, _Motacilla yarrelli_
of Gould. The _Motacilla alba_ is said by Temminck to inhabit meadows
in the vicinity of streams of water, villages, and old houses. Its
food is chiefly insects in various stages and of different kinds.
It builds its nest on the ground among the grass of the meadow, in
fissures in rocks or decayed buildings, among the roots of trees, on
the banks of streams, in piles of wood and fagots, or under the arch
of a bridge. The nests are somewhat coarsely constructed of interwoven
dry bent stems of plants and reeds, with a finer lining of the same.
The eggs, six in number, are of a bluish-white ground thickly
sprinkled with fine dottings, which are most usually of a
blackish-brown color, sometimes ashy-gray or reddish-brown.
The Pied Wagtail, _M. yarrelli_, Degland and Gerbe regard as a race,
and not a species. It has a limited habitat, confined to Norway,
Sweden, and the British Islands, in the latter of which it is a
resident throughout the year. Besides their difference in plumage, Mr.
Yarrell has noticed certain differences also of habit. The _alba_ is
said not to be so partial to water as the pied species, and though
often found near ploughed land, does not, like its kindred species,
follow the plough in search of insects. Mr. Hewitson also states that
it has a hoarser voice.
Like all the birds of this family, the Wagtail is much admired for the
elegance of its form, its activity, and the airy lightness of its
motions. It seems ever on the move, runs with great rapidity a quick
succession of steps in pursuit of its food, and goes from place to
place in short undulating flights. It has a cheerful chirping note
which it utters while on the wing. When it alights, it gives a
graceful fanning movement with its tail, from which it derives its
name.
The Pied Wagtail, whose habits have been more closely observed by
English naturalists, has frequently been seen to wade into the water
in search of aquatic insects, and probably also of small fish, as in
confinement they have been known to catch and feed on minnows in a
fountain in the centre of their aviary. It is probable that the habits
of the White Wagtail are not dissimilar.
They leave their breeding-places in October, collecting and moving in
small flocks.
Their eggs measure .79 of an inch in length and .59 in breadth. The
ground-color is of a grayish-white so thickly flecked with fine
ash-colored and black dots as to give the entire egg the effect of a
uniform dark ashen hue.