General

Eastern Yellow Wagtail: Small wagtail (tschutschensis), with olive-green upperparts and yellow underparts with brown spots on sides of breast. Throat is white with faint brown necklace. Gray head has black ear patches and distinct white eyebrows. Wings are dark with two white bars. Tail is very long, black with white edges and wags constantly. Sexes are similar. Juvenile has buff underparts.

Range and Habitat

Eastern Yellow Wagtail: Breeds in northern and western Alaska and Aleutians. Spends winters in Eurasia. Preferred habitats include wet meadows, riverbanks, and lakeshores.

Breeding and Nesting

Eastern Yellow Wagtail: Four to seven buff to white eggs, marked with brown, buff, or gray, are laid in a cup nest made of grass, forbs, leaves, and mosses, and lined with hair and feathers. Incubation ranges from 10 to 13 days and is carried out by both parents.

Foraging and Feeding

Eastern Yellow Wagtail: Eats insects, worms, snails, and sometimes seeds and fruits; forages on the ground.

Vocalization

Eastern Yellow Wagtail: Song is a short, trilling "chip-chip-chip" or quiet "pee-weet, pee-weet." Call is a bold "tsweep" or "ijit-jijit."

Similar Species

Eastern Yellow Wagtail: Gray Wagtail has longer tail, gray back with flight feathers not edged in white, and black throat during breeding season.