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(Motacilla flava, Linn.—La Bergeronette de printems, Buff.)
LENGTH six inches and a half. Bill black; eyes hazel; the head and all the upper parts of the body are olive green, palest on the rump; the under parts bright yellow, dashed with a few dull spots on the breast and belly; over each eye is a pale yellow streak, and beneath a dusky line, curving upwards towards the hinder part of the head; wing coverts edged with pale yellow; quills dusky; tail black, except the outer feathers, which are white: legs black; hinder claws long.
This bird is seen very early in the spring, in the meadows and fields, among the green corn, where it frequently nestles; in winter it haunts the sides of brooks and springs which do not freeze. The female lays five eggs, of a pale lead colour, with dusky spots.
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