. Our native songsters . nst the windows of my fathers house,and those of that of our neighbour;, who beingrather superstitious, was alarmed about it, andcame to consult my mother on the subject. Shesaid tliere was a bird, which lier brotlier had toldher was a barley bird, which wa.«< continually flyingagainst the windows; and as birds were not in tliehabit of doing so at any other time, she thoughtsome serious calamity was portended by it. Mymotlier comforted her as well as she could ; andI undertook to rid her of tlie annoyance. Bysetting a horse-hair noose on one of the windowledges, whi
. Our native songsters . nst the windows of my fathers house,and those of that of our neighbour;, who beingrather superstitious, was alarmed about it, andcame to consult my mother on the subject. Shesaid tliere was a bird, which lier brotlier had toldher was a barley bird, which wa.«< continually flyingagainst the windows; and as birds were not in tliehabit of doing so at any other time, she thoughtsome serious calamity was portended by it. Mymotlier comforted her as well as she could ; andI undertook to rid her of tlie annoyance. Bysetting a horse-hair noose on one of the windowledges, which it was in the habit of frequenting,I soon caught it; and by jducking out tlie under-tail coverts, which I wanted to dress yellow dunswith, I effectually cured it of the propensity. This bird, is, during the summer, very generallydiffused throughout Europe. In Scotland and thenorthern counties of England it is a regularsummer visitor, coming to us in April, and quittingat about the end of September. It is described (f^> THE YELLOW WAGTAIL. 129 loj Selby, however, as having been seen in thesouth of England in the winter only during itssouthern migration. It has two broods each nest is usually placed in some rocky ledgenear the clear pebbly stream, or among someheap of stones, or percliance in a hole which thebird finds in a neighbouring bank, Avhere thegentle murmuring of waters may serve as anaccompaniment to its pleasing song. The eggsare of a yellowish giey tint, with dashes of adarker colour. The Yellow Wagtail* {Motacilla flava) frequentsdowns and open arable lands, and is very similarin its habits to the grey species. It builds on thegTOund, and its eggs are of a pale brown, markedwith a darker hue. It is a migratory bird, arriv-ing here in March; and its song is very sweet. Besides the various songs of the birds alreadynamed as frequenters of well-watered lands, thecall-notes and chirpings of several others may beheard in such scenes; and the low swee
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1850, booksubjectbirds, bookyear1853
