Wagtail
a name of birds included in the family of the warblers, and so termed from their habit of jerking their long tails when running or perching.
They inhabit meadow lands and pastures, frequent water pools and streams, are agile runners, and have a rapid flight.
The food consists of insects. Their nests, built on the ground, contain from four to six eggs. These birds belong to both Old and New Worlds and migrate S. in winter; but the pied wagtail (Motacilla Yarreliii) is a permanent resident in Great Britain. It is almost wholly black on the upper parts; the under parts are grayish white. Other representative varieties, distributed principally over the European continent and the East, are the white wagtail (M. alba); the gray wagtail (M. campestris or Boarula) and the yellow or Ray's wagtail (M. sulphurea or Budytes Rayi).