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White Wagtail

White Wagtail

Motacilla alba

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The White Wagtail is a slim, black, white and grey songbird famous for constantly wagging its long tail as it runs about in open places. It breeds across Europe, Asia and North Africa, with a foothold in western Alaska, and often lives close to people. Many subspecies are recognised, including the black-backed Pied Wagtail of north-western Europe. Most populations migrate, wintering in Africa, the Middle East and southern Asia.

Did you know?

  • It is the national bird of Latvia.
  • Its constant tail-wagging may help flush insects or signal alertness.

Voice

Call

About the species

Identification

A slim, long-tailed songbird that almost always wags its tail. The back is grey and the underparts white; the wings show white bars and the tail is black and white. The head is white with black: in breeding males the throat and rear crown are black, in females the tones are greyer; young and winter birds have a greyish head. The black legs and bill and the frequent “tsli-vit” call help separate it from similar species.

Family

Motacillidae

Size

Small (sparrow)

Colours

grey, white, black

About the habitat

Open habitats with low vegetation, especially near water – river banks, lake and sea shores, wetlands and meadows – as well as farmland, farmyards and towns.

Diet

Mainly insects and other small invertebrates taken on the ground and at water edges – flies, midges, beetles, spiders and aquatic larvae – often caught in short flights.

Behaviour

An active ground forager that walks and runs with its tail constantly pumping, often along shores, roads, fields and car parks. It nests in cavities and crevices in natural sites or buildings, bridges and roofs. Outside the breeding season it gathers in communal roosts, sometimes in towns. Its call is a sharp “chissick”.

Sources

Photo: Jac. Janssen from BAARLO LB, NL, CC BY 2.0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:20180415 015 Winterswijk Witte kwikstaart (40785272624).jpg

Sound: Hannu Varkki, XC501786, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://xeno-canto.org/501786

Text: Wikipedia (English) + FinBIF species descriptions, CC BY-SA 4.0; FinBIF: CC BY 4.0 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_wagtail

See also