MOTACILLA, the wagtail, and the warbler, in natural history, a genus of birds of the order Passeres. Though differing somewhat considerably in man ners, these birds are ranked by Gmelin under one genus. Generic character : bill subulate and straight; mandibles nearly equal: nostrils small and rather depressed ; tongue cloven. Gmelin enu merates one hundred and ninety-four species, of which it will be sufficient to notice the few following.
Of the wagtails it may be observed, that their movements are extremely alert, and that their tails are particularly long, and perpetually jerked and down by them. Their progress is by running, rather than springing. They rarely perch on trees. Their flight is waving, and accompanied by a twitter ing sound ; and their food consists of flies and other insects, in pursuit of which they will often follow the husbandman with his plough, and also the movements of flocks of sheep.
M. alba, or the pied wagtail, is very common in England, frequenting the shallow borders of streams and lakes, in search of worms and insects, and often advancing into the water, so as to cause its feet to facilitate its discoveries. Its note is totally uninteresting. It changes its situations in this island from the north to the south, as winter advances. It builds on the ground a warm and well compacted nest, and the female conti nues her maternal attentions to her young for several weeks after they are able to fly, protecting them with great intrepidity, and feeding them with in cessant assiduity. See Ayes, Plate X. fig. 4.
The warblers are composed of a great variety of classes, different in striking particularities of habit as well as in size. They are found in almost all parts of the world, perch on trees, move by leaping, and rarely utter any sounds during their flight. They are more numerous than any genus of birds, and abound principally in the warm lati tudes of the globe, where insects, their chief food, are found in never-failing sup plies.
M. luseinia, or the nightingale, is some what larger than a hedge sparrow, and on the upper part of its body of a rusty brown colour. It is common in several parts of Great Britain; but is seldom seen so far north as Yorkshire, or so much to the west as Cornwall, or even Devon shire. It arrives in April, and quits in
August. The males arrive about a week before the females. Their winter resi dence appears to be unascertained, and never takes place in Great Britain, Prance, Germany, Greece, or Italy, and is generally supposed to be in Asia, in va rious parts of which they are found, and highly valued for their powers of melo dy. In Japan and in Aleppo this is said to be particularly the case. In the latter place they are kept tame, and hired out, to give vivacity and harmony to almost every festival and entertainment. In Persia the nightingale sings in great per fection, and Fryer, in his travels through that country, mentioning this bird, says, "this sweet harbinger of the light is a constant cheerer of the groves of Persia, charming, with its warbling strains, the heaviest soul into a pleasing ecstacy." By another interesting writer, the night ingale is said to " begin its song with a slow and tumid voice ; by degrees the sound opens, and swelling, it bursts with loud and vivid Bashes ; it flows with smooth volubility ; it faints and mur murs ; it shakes with rapid and violent 2rticulstions. The soft breathing's of love and joy are poured from the inmost soul, and every heart melts with deli cious langour ; pauses occasionally oc cur, to prevent satiety and give dignity and elevation ; the mild silence of even ing heightens the general effect, and no rival interrupts the happy and interesting scene." Nightingales build in low and close bushes, and sometimes breed three times in a year. The female sustains the undi vided fatigue of incubation, while the male, at a short distance only, enlivens her with his exquisite strains. Nightin gales are never seen even in flocks of a very small number. They live chiefly on insects and berries, on worms, and the eggs of ants. They are caught without particular difficulty, having little cun ning, though much timidity. Old ones cannot easily be induced to sing in con finement: yet if kept tranquil and unirri tated, will at length recur to song, and continue it through a great part of the year as fluently as those which have been reared from the nest. See Ayes, Plate X. fig. 4.