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Bird name:

White Wagtail

Motacilla lugens

Order

PASSERIFORMES

Family

Wagtails and Pipits (Motacillidae)

Code 4

WHWA

Code 6

MOTLUG

ITIS

178487

Breeding Location:

Seashore, rocky or sandy, Rocky places, Grasslands

Breeding Type:

Monogamous, Solitary nester

Breeding Population:

Rare to casual

Egg Color:

Pale blue to gray with gray or brown speckles

Number of Eggs:

4 - 6

Incubation Days:

13 - 15

Egg Incubator:

Both sexes

Nest Material:

Grass, forbs, leaves, roots, and twigs, lined with grass, hair, and feathers.

Migration:

Migratory

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General

White Wagtail: Medium-sized wagtail, mostly white except for black upperparts and upper breast. All-white wing appears as a white wing patch when folded. Tail is black with white outer tail feathers that are conspicuous in flight and flicked continually when walking. Sexes are similar. Winter adult and juvenile have mainly gray upperparts and reduced black on breast. Accidental visitor in Alaska.

Range and Habitat

White Wagtail: Eurasian native; rare visitor on the outer Aleutians and other Alaskan islands; sometimes occurs further east. Preferred habitats include rocky seashores, grasslands, lakes, and rivers.

Breeding and Nesting

White Wagtail: Four to eight pale blue to gray eggs with gray or brown speckles are laid in a nest constructed of grass, forbs, leaves, roots, and twigs and lined with grass, hair, and feathers. Incubation ranges from 13 to 15 days and is carried out by both parents.

Foraging and Feeding

White Wagtail: Diet consists primarily of insects and snails; forages on the ground and in shallow water.

Vocalization

White Wagtail: Sings a lively, warbling melody. Call is "chuchun-chuchun", often given in flight.

Similar Species

White Wagtail: Black-backed Wagtail shows mostly white wings in flight, with black tips to outer primaries, breeding adult has black back, and winter adult has black U-shaped patch encircling breast from side of head.

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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.

Upperparts

Back, rump, hindneck, wings, and crown.

Breast

The upper front part of a bird.

Outer tail feathers

The tail feathers farthest from the center.

4 and 6 letter alpha codes

The four letter common name alpha code is is derived from the first two letters of the common first name and the first two letters of common last name. The six letter species name alpha code is derived from the first three letters of the scientific name (genus) and the first three letters of the scientific name (species). See (1) below for the rules used to create the codes..

Four-letter (for English common names) and six-letter (for scientific names) species alpha codes were developed by Pyle and DeSante (2003, North American Bird-Bander 28:64-79) to reflect A.O.U. taxonomy and nomenclature (A.O.U. 1998) as modified by Supplements 42 (Auk 117:847-858, 2000) and 43 (Auk 119:897-906, 2002). The list has been updated by Pyle and DeSante to reflect changes reported by the A.O.U from 2003 through 2006.

Field Guide to Birds of North America