Identification

There are two races of this species in Europe, since the wagtails in Britain and Ireland have darker backs and are known as Pied Wagtails. In the White Wagtails of mainland Europe, the back is storm-cloud grey and the black nape and black bib which border the white face don't meet at the side of the neck.

Habitat

Breeds in rural and urban buildings and walls. Feeds on short grassland or beside inland or coastal waters. Also winters in towns and cities.

Behaviour

The familiar 'chizzick' call is used by birds in flight to find out whether potential feeding areas below are already occupied. There is little point in landing where a wagtail has already been (and caused the insects to fly) so if the bird flying over hears the reply of a bird on the ground it knows that it should carry on flying. For a similar reason a feeding wagtail keeps walking forwards, not returning to where he's already been until sufficient time has elapsed for the insects to return.

Migration

Northern populations migrate to the southern Mediterranean, the tropics and sub-tropics of Africa. More southerly populations, such as those in Britain, tend to be resident although some British birds have been shown to move as far as Portugal. Such birds presumably pass through Holland in spring when up to 13% of the 'White Wagtails' may be of the 'British' race.

This information is taken from the BirdFile on the appropriate BirdGuides DVD-ROM. As well as video and sounds, our CD- and DVD-ROMs contain additional text on Voice, Sexing, Ageing, Food, Nests and Eggs and more.

For the purposes of our bird news services, White Wagtail is classed as Local: generally fairly regular or common species that a 'county lister' or a birding beginner might be interested in going to see. (Note that rarity levels are currently applied nationally and may not reflect local variations in abundance.)

Spytkow, Lower Silesia, Poland 21/07/2010	Undisclosed, Macedonia (Republic of) 04/06/2010	Kotlin Island, Leningrad Oblast, Russia (Europe) 15/05/2010	Cley, Norfolk 01/04/2010	Donnybrewer, L'derry 01/05/2010
Toft Newton Resr, Lincs 23/04/2010	Draycote Wtr, Warks 21/04/2010	Grune Pt, Cumbria 19/04/2010	Grune Pt, Cumbria 19/04/2010	Yatsu Higata, Chiba Prefecture, Honshū, Japan 18/04/2010

 View all pictures of White Wagtail

White Wagtail breeds in the following countries (Bird News Extra subscribers will see population statistics and information on trends for each country):

Albania
Andorra
Armenia
Austria
Azerbaijan
Belarus
Belgium
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Britain
Bulgaria
Croatia
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Denmark
Estonia
Faroe Islands
Finland
France
Georgia
Germany
Greece
Greenland
Hungary
Iceland
Ireland
Italy
Latvia
Lichtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Macedonia
Moldova
Netherlands
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Russia
Serbia and Montenegro
Slovakia
Slovenia
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Turkey
Ukraine

http://blx1.bto.org/birdfacts/results/bob10200.htm   BTO BirdFacts: White Wagtail	Edit this link
	Broken link
Recommend a new link

BirdGuides Ltd are not responsible for the content of external sites. If you find a broken link, please click the appropriate "Broken link" link above`.