Page 288 - Complete Birds of Britain and Europe (DK - RSPB)

PIPITS AND WAGTAILS
Order Passeriformes Family Motacillidae Species Motacilla flava
Yellow Wagtail pale stripe
green crown over eye

two white bars bright yellow white lines
on blackish stripe over on wings
wings eye buff
underside
MALE green
(SPRING)
back
JUVENILE (AUTUMN)
bright yellow pale line
underparts
over eye
IN FLIGHT
grey-green
back
MALE
(SPRING)
white sides
to black tail
FEMALE
(SPRING)
long,
spindly
black legs
legant and colourful, the Yellow Wagtail, particularly the summer FLIGHT: strong but undulating, with long,
Emale, is a highly distinctive bird. However, autumn birds, sweeping bounds; flurries of quick wingbeats.
especially juveniles, cause confusion with rarer
species and also juvenile Pied Wagtails, which can FEEDING
The Yellow Wagtail is usually found
appear strongly yellowish.The call always helps to around livestock in damp fields
identify it. In summer, it lives around pools and and pastures: it eats insects
reservoirs and damp, grassy fields where horses dislodged from the grass by the
and cattle disturb the insects it eats. In winter, it is grazing cattle and horses.
found near big mammal herds on African plains.
VOICE Call distinctive, loud, full, flat, or rising
tsli, or tsweep or tswi-eep; song repetition of brief,
chirping phrases.
NESTING Grassy cup in vegetation on ground; SUBSPECIES
5 or 6 eggs;2 broods;May–July.
FEEDING Forages on ground, skipping and leaping M. f. flava long white
stripe over
after flies in short flycatching sallies; eats insects and (C Europe) eye
other invertebrates. blue-grey crown
and cheeks
SIMILAR SPECIES OCCURRENCE
Widespread in summer, breeding
longer tail greyer throughout Europe except for
back
Ireland and Iceland. Often near
longer water, in wet fields and pastures
tail glossy black
shorter, crown and cheeks with livestock. Migrant flocks
pale legs often on muddy reservoir edges
M. f. feldegg
(SE Europe) or adjacent grass.
GREY WAGTAIL 32; PIED WAGTAIL juvenile, Seen in the UK
see p.287 similar to juvenile; see p.285 J F M A M JJ A S O N D
Length 17cm (6 1 ⁄2in) Wingspan 23–27cm (9–10 1 ⁄2in) Weight 16–22g ( 9 ⁄16 – 13 ⁄16oz)
Social Small flocks Lifespan Up to 5 years Status Secure
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