Page:The Common Birds of Bombay.djvu/130

114 the tents on the Esplanade, enchanting the children, and those whose hearts are still child-like, with their pretty familiarity.

There is only one other species which I need mention. It is a permanent resident and is very common all over the Deccan, but not so often seen in Bombay, because it is more a water bird than the others and will not wander far from its river or tank. It will have nothing to do with salt water. The species I mean is, of course, the Pied Wagtail, (Motacilla maderaspatana). It is a larger bird than the others and is coloured very like the Magpie Robin, shining black on the upper parts, with a broad white patch on the wing, and pure white from the breast downwards. Its tail is half black and half white. It has also a broad white eyebrow, which the Magpie Robin has not. It is a very sweet singer and is sometimes caged. While all our other Wagtails are migratory, the Pied Wagtail not only remains with us the whole year, but sticks to one spot. One reason for this appears to be that it is always engaged in bringing up a family. Barnes mentions one pair which made five nests, or at least laid eggs five times, in less than half a year, and I once found a large series of old nests of all ages on the beams of a bridge. Any ledge, or shelf, or niche near to water will do. An old boat affords endless eligible sites, and I do not believe you will find a discarded hulk on a river anywhere in the Deccan without a pair ot Pied Wagtails in possession, singing and swinging their long tails and driving off all rivals. There are usually three or four eggs, of a greenish-white colour, spotted and splashed with brown.