White Wagtail : A Small Winter Visitor Bird

White Wagtail : A Small Winter Visitor Bird

White Wagtail (Male)

White Wagtail (Female)

White Wagtail (perched inside a pond)

White Wagtail (in search of food)

· With the advent of winter season, ‘ White Wagtail ‘ – a tiny small passerine bird, arrives in India (Bharat) and normally sighted near water bodies and open cultivation area.

· It is the national bird of Latvia , a Baltic state in North-eastern Europe. A widespread winter visitor. They normally breed in the Himalayas (or in Europe) and visit Indian peninsula during winter.

Salient Features of White Wagtail :

· A very agile bird having black & white head pattern, grey or black mantle, and largely white to black wing-coverts. The most conspicuous habit of this species is a frequent tail wagging from which it derives its name.

· Male and female can be distinguished by black pattern around their head and neck. Whereas male wagtail has larger and darker pattern around head and neck, female has discontinued black pattern on top of head and neck.

· Their calls include a loud ‘ tslee-vit ‘. Its song is a lively twittering and chattering with call-like notes.

· They mainly sighted in open forest, cultivation, near habitation and water body.

· They feed mainly on terrestrial and aquatic insects and other small invertebrates.

· Its scientific name is ‘Motacilla alba’ and belongs to ‘ Motacillidae ‘ family.