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WAGTAIL (Wagsterd and Wagstyrt, 15th century fide T. See also: form the passerine See also: family Motacillidae
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The pied wagtail Motacilla lugubris is a See also: common and generally distributed See also: species in the See also: British Islands, and common through-out See also: northern See also: Europe, but migrating southwards over a relatively narrow range in winter
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The See also: white wagtail, M.
See also: alba of See also: Linnaeus, has a wide range in Europe, See also: Asia and See also: Africa, visiting See also: England almost yearly, and chiefly differing from the ordinary British in its lighter-coloured tints—the See also: cock especially having a clear See also: grey instead of a black back
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Three other species occur in England, but the subfamily with several genera and very many species ranges over the Old See also: World, except See also: Australia and Polynesia, whilst the See also: Asiatic species reach See also: North-West See also: America
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Wagtails are generally parti-coloured birds, frequenting streams and stagnant See also: water, and feeding on seeds, See also: insects, See also: worms, small molluscs and crustaceans
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The See also: bill is thin and elongated, and the tail is very long
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The nests are made of See also: moss, grass and roots, with a lining of hair and feathers; four to six eggs are laid, bluish white or See also: brown, or yellowish with spots and markings
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The genus Motacilla (an exact rendering of the
See also: English " wagtail," the Dutch Kwikstaart, the See also: Italian Codatremola and other similar words), which, as originally founded by Linnaeus, contained nearly all the " soft-billed " birds of early English ornithologists, was restricted by various authors in succession, following the example set by Scopoli in 1769, until none but the wagtails remained in it
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