The nest is generally placed not far from the water, in some inequality of the bank, or crevice of an overhanging rock. Upon a rugged mountain stream in Northumberland some years since, I daily observed a pair of these birds, and derived much pleasure in watching their building operations. It was some time before I could discover the nest, so skilfully was it concealed, for the birds had selected a crevice in a rock which was much overgrown with moss, and by constructing their nest entirely of this moss, it would easily have escaped observation, had I not patiently watched for the ingress and egress of the owners. The geographical range of the Grey Wagtail beyond the British Islands has not been satisfactorily determined, in consequence of the difficulty of identifying the species amongst other allied forms which are to be met with in the confines of Europe and Asia. It certainly does not go far north in Europe, perhaps not beyond Northern Germany, but southward it is met with in winter in most of the countries bordering the Mediterranean, as well as in North Africa, Madeira, and the Azores. [Illustration: Decorative glyph] [Illustration: YELLOW WAGTAIL] THE YELLOW WAGTAIL. (_Motacilla Rayi._) By many authors the Yellow Wagtails have been separated from the Pied Wagtails under the generic term _Budytes_, proposed by Cuvier, not only in consequence of their very different colouration, but also on account of their possessing a longer and more strongly-developed hind claw. The numerous intermediate forms, however, which the researches of modern naturalists have brought to light from various parts of the Old World, have rendered this subdivision less necessary or desirable than it may originally have appeared to be. In outward form, internal structure, and habits, they are all Wagtails, and one generic term for the whole has, at all events, the merit of simplicity. The Yellow Wagtail, whose plumage in the breeding season equals in brightness that of the Canary, is one of the most attractive of all our summer migrants. When running over the pastures and fields of sprouting wheat, the olive-green colour of the dorsal plumage renders it very inconspicuous, but when perched upon some rail, or clod upon the bare fallow, the bright yellow of the under-parts contrasts vividly with the duller surroundings, and at once attracts the attention of the passer-by. Its favourite haunts are the marshes and water-meadows where cattle are pastured. Here it finds plenty of food amongst the insects which are disturbed by the grazing kine, and the numerous small and thin-shelled mollusca which abound in such situations.