White wagtail

The wagtail (Motacilla alba), Westphalian also Wippstiärtken, North Lower Saxon Wippsteert, in the Cologne area Wibbelstetzje, East Frisian Akkermāntje or Baumāntje is a songbird species from the family of stilts and peepers. It is conspicuous for its contrasting black, white and grey plumage and the bobbing tail typical of stilts. The characteristic call is a high, metallic dschiwid.

The extensive range extends from southeast Greenland through the entire Palaearctic to the Bering Strait and into the far west of Alaska. In the north it extends beyond the Arctic Circle, in the south into the subtropics. In Central Europe the wagtail is a widespread and frequent breeding bird. Originally it was probably bound to unvegetated banks and waters, but today it can be found everywhere in the open and semi-open cultivated landscape where there are suitable nesting opportunities and open ground for foraging. The species breeds in niches and half-caves and feeds almost exclusively on insects and other arthropods.

In winter, wagtails usually migrate southwards, although the length of their migration routes varies considerably. Central European wagtails spend the winter mainly in south-western Europe and North Africa, while the wintering areas of other populations sometimes reach as far as the equator. However, individual birds also remain in central or northern Europe throughout the winter.

Description

The wagtail is a slender, rather high-legged songbird with a long tail that is constantly in bobbing motion. The tail accounts for about 9 cm of the 16.5-19 cm body length. The weight is about 25 g. The bill is black like the legs and feet, in plain dress it shows a horn-coloured base.

Brood Dress

In the male of the nominate form, the forehead is white in the brood dress until the middle crown as well as a part above behind the eye, the sides of the head and the neck. The back of the head and neck are shiny black, as are the chin, throat and forechest, and are usually neatly contrasted with the white parts of the face and the grey back. The rump is slate to blackish grey as are the upper tail coverts, of which the lateral ones on the outer plume are fringed with white. The grey of the shoulder feathers blends into the pure white of the underside on the breast sides and flanks. The under-tail coverts are also white. The tail is glossy black and, because the two outer pairs of feathers are black only at the base and inner vane, shows broad, white outer edges that are especially noticeable when the bird flies up. In addition, the middle pair of control feathers is narrowly fringed with white. The wing feathers are blackish brown with white to light grey fringing. The hand feathers are finely fringed with white, as are the hand coverts and the fletch. On the arm-wings the outer edges become broader towards the umbrella feathers, and on the latter they occupy a large part of the outer plume. Here they are dirty white to light gray. The large arm covers are similarly fringed, the inner ones bearing an extended white, stepped tip. The middle arm covers show a broad lace fringe. The underwing coverts are dirty white.

The female resembles the male in the brood-dress, however, the white face-parts usually are not so clearly set off from the black and are partly greyish mottled. The black colouring of the nape merges into the grey of the back and is not sharply separated as in the male. In addition, the wing plumage is usually not as contrastingly brightly fringed as in the male. In some females, the head markings may be just as or similar to those of the male.

Plain dress

In plain dress, the adult birds lack the black parts on the head. They are limited to a crescent-shaped band on the breast and a partly distinct cheek patch. The forehead is dirty white to grey. The head, neck, ear covers and cheeks are grey. The facial area may have a yellowish tinge. The rest of the plumage is the same as the breeding plumage. The male differs from the female only by the darker crown interspersed with black feathers.

Youth dress

In the juvenile plumage the upper side is predominantly grey, the back somewhat lighter, the top of the head and neck somewhat brownish. Above behind the eye there is an over-eye stripe, which like the sides of the neck, the chin and the throat are dirty white. The ear covers are dark dirty yellow. A crescent-shaped breast band and a chin stripe extending from it are brown-black to yellow-brown. The sides of the breast are grey, the underside white. Wing and tail plumage resemble adult plumage, but fade quickly and then show little contrast between centers and fringes.

Voice

The most frequently uttered typical call of the wagtail is a high and conspicuous zi-lipp or dschi-witt, which can also be uttered as a trisyllabic tsi-di-litt. It can have several functions and expressions. It is performed by territorial males both during the breeding season and in the winter quarters, and then replaces a territorial song. As a vocalization and contact call, it can be heard when flying up or landing, in flight, or as a feeding call. It is then often less soft and can be reduced to a monosyllabic zick or zlipp. As an alarm or excitement call it resembles the call of the grey wagtail, but is then higher and sharper and is described as zississ. Near the nest and from pairs, a number of other variations are heard, such as zlid, psijip or plim. During courtship, various delicate and soft calls and call series have been observed.

A kind of chirping song can be heard when excited, as a quiet courtship song between territorial calls or on the move. It often consists only of short strophes, but can also be persistent and often arises from the vocal feeling sound, which is repeatedly interwoven in different modulations. Imitations of other bird species also occur. Song activity probably varies greatly from individual to individual. However, song and calls are heard throughout the year.