. The sportsman's British bird book . - difficultgroup to classify, and, as is noted later on (pp. 537 and 538), a consider-able amount of uncertainty still obtains among naturalists as to thenumber of species and races—even among those visiting the BritishIsles—which should be recognised. Grey Wag-tail -^^ ^^ breeding-dress the male of the grey wagtail (Motacilla (often known as Motacilla snlphnrea) xmy be dis- melanope). tinguished without difficulty by the slaty grey of the crown and sides of the head and back, the black throat, and the sulphur-yellow under-parts ; additional characters bei
. The sportsman's British bird book . - difficultgroup to classify, and, as is noted later on (pp. 537 and 538), a consider-able amount of uncertainty still obtains among naturalists as to thenumber of species and races—even among those visiting the BritishIsles—which should be recognised. Grey Wag-tail -^^ ^^ breeding-dress the male of the grey wagtail (Motacilla (often known as Motacilla snlphnrea) xmy be dis- melanope). tinguished without difficulty by the slaty grey of the crown and sides of the head and back, the black throat, and the sulphur-yellow under-parts ; additional characters being. MOUNTED IN THE ROWLAND WARD STUDIOS GREY WAGTAIL (MALE). the presence of a white stripe above the eye, and of another runningfrom the base of the beak to the neck, the black middle tail-feathersand the white outer ones, and the buffish-white margins to the innersecondary quills. The hen has a shorter tail than the cock—in whichthis appendage is of unusual length—and is further distinguished byher duller colouring, and the absence or slight development of theblack on the throat. This black area disappears also from the cockin winter-dress, when the under-parts assume a huffish tint. Youngbirds resemble their maternal parents, with the exception that theyare browner, and have buff eye-stripes. This wagtail, which is partially migratory, ranges across Europeand Asia from the Atlantic to the Pacific, not reaching, however,northward of central Russia and southern Sweden, and in winter 536 PERCHING BIRDS visiting the mountains of north-eastern Africa, India, l^urma, and oven the Molucca
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