yellow wagtail

Male breeding has olive-green upperparts and yellow underparts, with considerable subspecies variation in head coloration and patterning. Female in breeding plumage ussually shows some features of breeding male. First-winter birds typically have brownish-olive upperparts, whitish underparts with variable yellowish wash, and buff or whitish median- and greater-coverts wing-bars and fringes to tertials. Some first-winters, however, have greyish upperparts and whitish underparts(lacking any yellow) and have broader white wing-bars, and can closely resemble first-winter Citrine Wagtail. Compared with Citrine, grey-and-white first-winter Yellow typically show the following features: narrower white superclium which does not extend around ear-coverts to join white of throat grey forehead concolourous with crown: dark lores resulting in complete dark eye-strips pale bae to lower mandible, and narrower white wing-bars, Juvenile has a dark malar stripe and band across breast, Five subspecies have been recoreded in the subcontinent and breeding males are distinctive, M.f.beema has pale bluish-grey head, complete and distinct white supercilium, white chin, and usually a white submoustanchial stripe contrasting with yellow throat ear-coverts are grey or brown, usualy with some white feathers. M.f. leucocephala has whole head to nape white, with a variable blue-grey cast on the ear-coverts and rear crown: chin is white, and throat yellow as rest of underparts. M.f.feldegg(including melamogrisea)has black head, lacking any supercilium, and usualy a white chin and poorly submoustachial stripe constrasting with yellow throat. M.f.thunbergi(including plexa)has dark slete-grey crown with darker ear desk coverts, lacking supercilium(although may show faint trace behind eye). M.f.lutea has mainly yellow head, with variauble amounts of yellowis-green on crown and nack and ear-coverts (concolorous with mantle). M. f. 'superciliaris' is an intergrade, probably between beema and feldegg, and looks like the latter, but with a white supercilium.

This insectivorous bird inhabits open country near water, such as wet meadows.

Diet includes wide variety of terrestrial and aquatic invertebrates; also some plant material, especially seeds.

Call is a loud pseeu (beema) or trreep (feldegg).

The western yellow wagtail (Motacilla flava) is a small passerine in the wagtail family Motacillidae which also includes the pipits and longclaws. This species breeds in much of temperate Europe and Asia. It is resident in the milder parts of its range such as western Europe but northern and eastern populations migrate to Africa and south Asia. It is a slender 15&ndash16 cm long bird with the characteristic long constantly wagging tail of its genus. It is the shortest tailed of the European wagtails. The breeding adult male is basically olive above and yellow below. In other plumages the yellow may be diluted by white. The heads of breeding males come in a variety of colours and patterns depending on subspecies. The call is a high-pitched jeet. This insectivorous bird inhabits open country near water such as wet meadows. It nests in tussocks laying 4&ndash8 speckled eggs.   Currently recognized subspecies Colouration refers to males except when noted. M. f. flava Linnaeus 1758 &ndash blue-headed wagtail Blue-grey head with white supercilium and malar stripe in males much washed with buffish green in females. Breeding: southern Scandinavia to France and central European mountain ranges east to Urals. Winter: sub-Saharan Africa. M. f. flavissima Blyth 1834 &ndash yellow-crowned wagtail Yellow-green head with a brighter yellow supercilium. Females markedly paler below than males. Breeding: Britain and English Channel coast. Winter: Africa. M. f. thunbergi Billberg 1828 &ndash dark-headed wagtail or grey-headed wagtail Head dark grey reaching down to the cheeks and without white in males lighter and washed greenish with vestigial greenish supercilium in females. Breeding: central and northern Scandinavia east to north-west Siberia. Winter: eastern Africa Indian subcontinent Southeast Asia. M. f. iberiae Hartert 1921 &ndash Iberian yellow wagtail Like flava but throat white and grey darker almost black behind eyes. Breeding: south-eastern France Iberia Maghreb from Tunisia to Banc d'Arguin. Winter: The Gambia to the Central African Republic. M. f. cinereocapilla Savi 1831 &ndash ashy-headed wagtail Like iberiae but supercilium absent or vestigial. Breeding: Sicily Sardinia Italy Slovenia. Winter: coastal Tunisia and Algeria Mali to Lake Chad. M. f. pygmaea (A. E. Brehm 1854) &ndash Egyptian yellow wagtail Similar to cinereocapilla smaller less bright. Nile delta and lower Nile resident all year. M. f. feldegg Michahelles 1830 &ndash black-headed wagtail Like thunbergi but black cap in males females like a dull thunbergi male above very washed-out dirty yellowish below throat white. Breeding: Balkans east to the Caspian Sea south to Turkey Iran and Afghanistan also Levant. Winter: central Africa from Nigeria to Uganda and south Sudan. M. f. lutea (S. G. Gmelin 1774) &ndash yellow-headed wagtail Head yellow with green neck in males females like a somewhat more vivid flava female. Breeding: Lower Volga to Irtysh River and Lake Zaysan. Winter: Africa and Indian subcontinent. M. f. beema (Sykes 1832) &ndash Sykes' wagtail Like flava but head lighter grey ears washed white sexes often similar. Breeding: North of lutea east to Ladakh area. Winter: Indian subcontinent also east Africa and adjacent Arabia. M. f. melanogrisea (Homeyer 1878) &ndash Turkestan black-headed wagtail Similar to feldegg but white malar stripe and sometimes green neck. Breeding: Volga Delta east around Caspian Sea to northern Afghanistan. Winter: Pakistan and north-west India to western Nepal possibly also north-eastern Africa. M. f. plexa (Thayer & Bangs 1914) &ndash north Siberian yellow wagtail Males like thunbergi but ears darker top of head lighter vestigial supercilium. Females like dull males. Breeding: Siberia between Khatanga and Kolyma Rivers. Winter: India southe-east Asia. M. f. leucocephala (Przevalski 1887) &ndash white-headed yellow wagtail Male like flava but grey of head very pale almost white. Female like flava females but head somewhat darker. Breeding: North-west Mongolia and adjacent PRC and Russia. Winter: probably India. The nominate blue-headed wagtail and yellow wagtail form a narrow hybrid zone in northern France. Birds from this zone vary in appearance but one type which resembles nominate blue-headed wagtail (except that the blue tones to the head are paler and more mauve and the white of the head is more extensive particularly on the throat ear-coverts and supercilium) is colloquially referred to as Channel wagtail.