The COW or MEADOW WAGTAIL (_Budytes flavus_) is blueish grey upon the
head and nape, the back is olive-green, and under side bright yellow, the
quills and tail are of a blackish hue, with light borders; a pale stripe
passes above the eyes, and two yellow lines across the wings; in the
female and young all the colours are fainter and greyer than in the male
bird. The eye of all is dark brown, the beak black, the base of the lower
mandible light blue, and the foot black.
The Meadow Wagtail is generally found in the central and northern parts
of Europe; it frequents meadows and the banks of small streams, and feeds
principally upon flies and aquatic insects. The nest is built in holes in
meadow ground, or at the foot of trees; the eggs are six in number, with
light flesh-coloured blotches. Gould supposes these birds, although not
visiting England, to be numerous on the Continent. He received one that
he tells us was shot in the neighbourhood of Paris, and in May specimens
were killed in Sweden by N. C. Strickland, Esq. From the account of
this gentleman, their manners are very different from those of our
Yellow Wagtail, as they run about with the tail elevated, and the wings
hanging down and spread. We have also received the bird from the Himalaya
Mountains. The first British specimen was shot near Colchester by Mr.
Henry Doubleday, who was attracted by observing a pair of birds together,
long after the time that our Common Yellow Wagtail leaves the country.
In 1836 two were seen near Edinburgh, and others have since been seen at
intervals in different parts of England.