. An illustrated manual of British birds. Birds. MOTACILLID^. 127. THE BLUE-HEADED WAGTAIL. MOTACILLA FLAVA, LinnsEus. In 1832 it was pointed out by Gould that the Blue-headed Wag- tail of the Continent was distinct from the Yellow Wagtail, which is a regular visitor to our islands ; two years later Doubleday shot an example of the former at Walton-on-the-Naze; and since that date a considerable number have been obtained or observed, mostly in the south-western, southern, and eastern counties of England; while the bird nested on several occasions near Gateshead, Durham (Hancock); and Mr. Haigh
. An illustrated manual of British birds. Birds. MOTACILLID^. 127. THE BLUE-HEADED WAGTAIL. MOTACILLA FLAVA, LinnsEus. In 1832 it was pointed out by Gould that the Blue-headed Wag- tail of the Continent was distinct from the Yellow Wagtail, which is a regular visitor to our islands ; two years later Doubleday shot an example of the former at Walton-on-the-Naze; and since that date a considerable number have been obtained or observed, mostly in the south-western, southern, and eastern counties of England; while the bird nested on several occasions near Gateshead, Durham (Hancock); and Mr. Haigh shot one in Merionethshire on April 22nd 1897. As a rule, however, the Blue-headed Wagtail can hardly be considered as more than an irregular visitor on migration ; generally in spring, but not unfrequently in autumn. In Scotland it has been shot near Edinburgh and Dunbar, as well as on the Pentland Skerries, south of the Orkneys ; while Saxby states that he obtained it on the autumn migration in Shetland. The Blue-headed Wagtail has wandered to the Faeroes; and I have examined a specimen in the British Museum obtained by Gould in summer as far north in Norway as the Dovrefjeld. Southward, it is found throughout Europe; breeding in the west down to the shores of the Mediterranean, where it is partially resident, and pushing its migrations in winter to the south of Africa. Eastward, it is found across Asia to the Pacific ; and also in Alaska, where it breeds up to 64° N. lat. This Wagtail runs to varieties which are, in the opinion of some ornithologists, entitled to take rank as species ; * but upon this intricate question I must refer my. Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration and appearance of these illustrations may not perfectly resemble the original Saunders, Howard, 1835-1907. London, Gurney and Jackson
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