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SPECIES GUIDE >> WHITE WAGTAIL

White Wagtail Motacilla alba

January 09,03 Peter Jackson

I was very interested to read of Suresh's sighting of a white-headed yellow wagtail. I spotted one on 11 April 1965 in the midst of a large-scale movement of yellow wagtails alongside the Agra Canal. At first I presumed it to be an aberrant specimen of the yellow-headed wagtail. But when I consulted the Fauna of British India I found listed the white-headed yellow wagtail (M.f. leucocephala), which, apart from the white head, generally resembled M.f. beema.

The only previous record in India according to Stuart Baker and Ripley (Synopsis) was one shot by Whistler on 3 May 1913 in Jhelum District.

Baker says the white-headed yellow wagtail has been found breeding in Mongolia and Manchuria in May, June and July. The first recorded specimen was taken in the Altai. This could have been the Altai Republic in the Russian Federation or the nearby Altai Mountains, which stretch from eastern Kazakhstan through northern Xinjiang to Mongolia.

The editor of the BNHS Journal 62 (2), in which my note was published, said that "Spring males are distinguishable from all other wagtails by the almost pure white crown, nape and ear coverts, the last with a faint greyish wash".

OCTOBER 2002 BIRD OF THE MONTH

Six species of wagtail occur in India and in the case of three of them, several well-marked races, or possibly incipient species, have been recorded. This month’s title feature focuses on those three species although the other three species are illustrated. Note that many females and immatures are difficult to identify sub-specifically, so this note concentrates on adult male plumages.

White Wagtail Motacilla alba (alboides) copyight Otto Pfister

At least six races of White Wagtail have been reported from India. Alboides is one of the two black-backed forms (the other is leucopsis) and can always be separated from the larger, resident White-browed Wagtail M. madersapatensis by its white forehead and thinner calls. This latter species is the only black and white wagtail with broad white supercilia. Alboides breeds in Kashmir and other parts of the Himalaya and winters commonly in northern India. Of the four grey-backed forms, personata and dukunensis are illustrated. Both winter widely in India and personata breeds in the extreme Northwest. It is similar to alboides but with a grey mantle. The very rare ocularis has black stripes through the eyes. Dukhuensis is the palest and greyest and the plate shows a male in winter plumage. In breeding plumage the chin is black. Note in all the White Wagtails there is less black on the head in non-breeding plumage. The race baicalensis is very rare and shows a white chin in all plumages. White Wagtails are usually found in damp areas or near water but they are also partial to short-grass lawns and even paved areas such as forecourts. They often roost in large flocks in reed-beds mixing with other wagtail species.

White-browed Wagtail Motacilla maderaspatensis copyight Otto Pfister

White Wagtail Motacilla alba (personata ) copyight Otto Pfister

White Wagtail Motacilla alba (dukhunensis ) copyight Otto Pfister

Three races of Citrine Wagtail, M. citreola, occur in India and two are illustrated here. The nominate race citreola has a grey back and a broad black collar. It breeds in central and northern Asia wintering throughout most of India. The black-backed race calcarata breeds in Kashmir and winters in the northern half of India. The race werea (not illustrated) is like a pale citreola with a narrow collar. While all the adult males have completely yellow heads making them instantly separable from the Yellow Wagtail group M. flava, females and immatures can be more problematic. They tend to be greyer with more obvious white wing-edgings but the most consistent feature is the long supercilia that curl right round the ear coverts. A female calcarata Citrine is also shown. The calls of Citrine Wagtails are distinctly harsher than those of the Yellow group. They also tend to be even more restricted to aquatic habitats in winter, often feeding out on floating vegetation such as water hyacinth beds.

Citrine Wagtail Motacilla citreola (citreola) copyight Otto Pfister

Citrine Wagtail Motacilla citreola (calcarata) Male above Female below copyight Otto Pfister

Citrine Wagtail Motacilla citreola (Hooded)

The Yellow Wagtail group is the most complex and, depending on whether you included some races as variants of others, at least seven races occur. None breed in India but some races are common and widespread winter visitors. All adult males have yellow underparts and greenish backs with white edged wings and tail. The dark blue-grey crowned race thunbergi is illustrated and it and the pale-blue crowned beema are probably the commonest races wintering in India. Note that thunbergi usually shows contrasting darker grey ear coverts and some individuals show some white in their supercilia. These are sometimes treated as different races eg zaissanensis, simillima or plexa. Other races have green (taivana), whitish (leucocephala) or yellow crowns (lutea). In all cases the females and immatures are much paler with greenish crowns and straight supercilia. A female thunbergi is illustrated.

Two races have black crowns and are the most likely candidates for specific status as their calls are subtly different and the females and immature show very little yellow. The race melanogrisea (both male and immature illustrated) has a solid black crown and nape while superciliaris has thin white supercilia. Yellow wagtails like damp pasture and crops or short grass wetlands. They frequently feed close to grazing cattle, Nilgai and buffalo, catching the insects disturbed by their hoofs. They are noticeably sociable and it is possible to spot more than one race feeding together, particularly during the autumn and spring passage seasons.

Yellow Wagtail Motacilla flava copyight Rajesh Shah; Feb 22, 2006

Yellow Wagtail Motacilla flava (thunbergi ) copyight Nikhil Devasar Male above & female below

Yellow Wagtail Motacilla flava (thunbergi ) copyight Nikhil Devasar

Yellow Wagtail Motacilla flava (melanogrisea) male copyight Otto Pfister

Yellow Wagtail Motacilla flava (melanogrisea) female copyight Nikhil Devasar

The remaining two wagtail species are the very long-tailed, grey and yellow Grey M. cinerea and the strangely patterned Forest Dendronanthus indicus. In breeding plumage the male Grey has a black throat and in all plumages the yellow is mainly resticted to the lower belly and vent. It breeds in the northern mountains and winters throughout India, usually singly or in pairs, by fast flowing streams and barrages. Its hard “zit zit” call is distinctive. The Forest Wagtail also tends to be seen singly. Both sexes are pale grey-brown above and white below with strikingly black and white wings and double black breast bands. It is a bird of damp forest floors with minimal undergrowth, not necessarily near water and often flushed from paths in open forest. It has a strange habit of swaying its tail and lower body sideways (not up and down like other wagtails). It winters sparsely in southern India and the extreme Northeast and has bred in Assam. However passage individuals could be picked up almost anywhere.

Grey Wagtail Motacilla cinerea copyight Otto Pfister

Forest Wagtail Dendronanthus indicus copyight Otto Pfister

October is a good month for passage wagtails (though March-May is even better when many returning birds will be in fresh breeding season). They are usually not difficult to observe closely and it would be of interest to many in our group if the different races (where possible and relevant) could be reported. We still do not know enough about wintering ranges and relative abundance and we know next to nothing about any variations in habits.

The photographs featured here are from the forthcoming Photographic Guide to the Birds of India - Bikram Grewal, Bill Harvey and Otto Pfister. The Book is due to be published later this year.

Bill Harvey

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