Western Yellow Wagtail
Motacilla flava
Widespread wagtail, favoring wet meadows, marshland, grassy and muddy lakeshores. Occurs in fields and often near livestock during migration. Like other wagtails, walks on ground and pumps its long, white-sided tail up and down. Plumage highly variable, but breeding male wholly bright yellow below, with greenish back. Male head pattern varies regionally: in U.K. has greenish head with yellow eyebrow; in northern Europe head slaty gray overall; in central and southwest Europe head blue-gray with white eyebrow; striking white-headed birds in Mongolia and northwestern China. Individuals of several subspecies may winter together. Female and nonbreeding plumages drabber and paler, with ghosting of male patterns. Songs and calls vary between subspecies, but most give some form of buzzy “dzeerdzeer” or downslurrd “tzree.”
Taxonomy
Motacilla is the Latin name for the wagtail; although actually a diminutive of motare, " to move about", from medieval times it led to the misunderstanding of cilla as "tail". The specific flava is Latin for golden-yellow.<p>This species' systematics and phylogeny is extremely confusing. Dozens of subspecies have been described at one time or another, and some 15-20 are currently considered valid depending on which author reviews them. In addition, the citrine wagtail (M. citreola) forms a cryptic species complex with this bird;[page needed] both taxa as conventionally delimited are paraphyletic in respect to each other. The populations of the Beringian region are sometimes separated as eastern yellow wagtail (M. tschutschensis).<p>Colouration refers to males except when noted.<p>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.
- Scientific name
- Motacilla flava
- Authority
- Linnaeus, 1758
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Motacillidae
- Genus
- Motacilla
Range and habitat
- Breeding range
- PAL : widespread
- Non-breeding range
- OR, AF
- Migration
- Complete migrants
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds

Western Spindalis
Spindalis zena
Uncommon in thickets, forest edge, and gardens, where found mainly at fruiting trees and bushes. Usually in pairs or small flocks, and often quite inconspicuous. Handsome male is unmistakable, with bold head pattern, golden-yellow and dark reddish body plumage, and bold white wing pattern. Female is notably drab, grayish olive overall with a small white mark on the wing, and a ghosting of the male wing pattern.

Exclamatory Paradise-Whydah
Vidua interjecta
A nest parasite that lays its eggs in the nests of pytilias. As with other whydahs, breeding males are spectacular and bizarre, whereas non-breeding males and females are drab and inconspicuous. Breeding males are mostly black, with a rufous collar and a long tail with an odd widened area at its base. Non-breeding males and females have a brownish back, pale underparts, and a reddish bill. Generally scarce and local in broadleaf woodland and lush savanna. Breeding male similar to other paradise-whydahs, but has a longer tail than Sahel Paradise-Whydah, a shorter and thicker-based tail than Togo Paradise-Whydah, and a slightly shorter tail and more rufous collar than Eastern Paradise-Whydah. Non-breeding male and female can be cautiously identified by their combination of a reddish bill, pinkish legs, and simple facial pattern. Not very vocal, but does imitate pytilia vocalizations.

White-throated Shrike-Tanager
Lanio leucothorax
Large, long-tailed tanager with heavy hooked bill. Striking plumage is reminiscent of an oriole: yellow body with black head, black wings, white throat, and white shoulder patch. Female brown with paler throat and yellow belly. Note especially bill shape and habitat. Found in forests, usually at moderate heights, often in pairs leading a mixed-species flock.
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