Wagtail white (bird). Report with photos and video

Detachment - passeriformes

Family - Wagtail

Genus/Species - Motacilla alba

Basic data:

DIMENSIONS

Length: 17-20 cm.

Wingspan: 25-30 cm.

Weight: 20-23

BREEDING

Puberty: from 1 year.

Nesting period: April-August.

Carrying: 2 per year.

Number of eggs: 5-6 eggs.

Incubation: 12-14 days.

Feeding chicks: 13-15 days.

LIFESTYLE

Habits: the white wagtail (pictured) leads a predominantly terrestrial lifestyle.

Food: insects, spiders, worms.

Lifespan: up to 10 years old.

RELATED SPECIES

There are 57 species in the Wagtail family, of which 11 belong to the Wagtail genus, for example, the Yellow Wagtail.

Scientists have identified about 14 subspecies of the white wagtail. All of them differ from each other by a lighter or vice versa, dark plumage color. These birds are found in a vast territory that includes all of Europe, Asia and North Africa.

WHAT DOES IT FEED

white wagtail feeds exclusively on insects, which it takes three different ways. The first is when she pecks insects from the surface of the earth. The second way: the wagtail sits near the water for a long time, waiting for some insect to fall into the water. Then she rushes forward like an arrow to catch an insect that has not yet drowned, but often, in order to get ahead of the fish, she flies after prey that has just fallen into the water. For the third way, the wagtail catches insects on the fly, hovering for this in a flapping flight over the water.

Wagtails, which do not fly to warmer climes for the winter, stay near water bodies, feeding on insects. Birds often swallow small insects whole, while large ones are torn apart.

LIFESTYLE. DESCRIPTION

The life of the white wagtail is often closely connected with water. This bird willingly settles along the banks of rivers. It also likes open space covered with short grass, and therefore is often found in parks, gardens and along roads.

The legs of the wagtail are perfectly adapted to walking on the ground. This bird can live in cities if it finds enough green spaces in them. Wagtails that stay in the cities for the winter quickly determine what the feeders are hung here for. An adult male white wagtail aggressively defends its territory from any uninvited guest. Often, he allows a young male to settle in his territory to help him protect his possessions. "Union" usually continues until the beginning of the nesting period. With the exception of this period, birds behave tolerantly towards each other and often live in the neighborhood. Wagtails spend the night in thickets of bushes in damp places or under trees. These birds benefit people by destroying horseflies and other blood-sucking insects.

BREEDING

The breeding season for white wagtails runs from April to August. Chicks from the first clutch are usually born at the end of April or in the first half of May. Wagtails change their partners every year. At the beginning of the mating season, the male occupies the site and attracts the female to it by singing, while he often has to compete with other representatives of his species. Performing a courtship dance, the male tilts his head down and shows a black "cap". After pairing, wagtails stay together for several days, then mate and start building a nest. Wagtails build nests in hollows and crevices between stones, sometimes on rocky ledges, buildings, in bushes and even in a landfill. Many wagtails incubate their eggs in a shallow earthen hole or in an abandoned nest of other birds.

The partners build the nest together, but the female does most of the work. She makes a bowl-shaped nest of brushwood, grass, roots, moss and leaves, and from the inside she lines it with wool, hair and down. The female lays 5-6 eggs twice a year. White wagtail eggs are white, gray or light blue with gray, gray-brown or brown spots. Incubation of eggs lasts about 14 days. Parents feed the chicks together. Chicks fledge at the age of 18-23 days.

WAGTAIL OBSERVATIONS

Distinguishing the white wagtail from other bird species is not very difficult. This is a slender bird with a long tail that sways all the time. She has long thin legs. Sometimes in flight it can be confused with the yellow or mountain wagtail, as they have similar silhouettes. However, the mountain wagtail has a much longer tail, and the yellow wagtail has a short one. Wagtails can also be distinguished by the sounds they make: the white wagtail calls “chilik” in flight, the yellow one calls “vulture”, and the mountain wagtail calls “zillik”, with a metallic tint, more piercing than its white relative.

• The white wagtail often sits on the backs of grazing domestic animals and collects insects from them.
• The villagers are well acquainted with the wagtail and give it special names, which in most cases refer to the feature of the bird that its tail sways.
• This bird aggressively defends its territory, and can even attack its reflection in window glass. Such actions often lead to her death.
• A flock of 6,000-7,000 wagtails once landed at the Casablanca airport. Above this place lies the path of migratory birds.

CHARACTERISTIC FEATURES OF THE WHITE WAGTALE

Mating dance: at the beginning of the nesting period, one female is often courted by two males. They pursue the female in a special flight-dance and accompany the performance with the "chilik" singing, which is characteristic of this species.

Eggs: in laying 5-6 white, gray or bluish eggs, covered with brown or gray spots.

Tail: running on the ground, the bird shakes its tail.

Plumage: light, mostly white and dark gray tones, a large black spot on the throat and chest, a black cap on the head.

- Habitat of the white wagtail

WHERE Dwells

The white wagtail breeds throughout Europe and Asia. Winters in Western Europe, Africa, India and southern China.

PROTECTION AND PRESERVATION

The white wagtail is one of the most widespread birds in Europe. The species is safe, it is not threatened with extinction, although after severe winters the number of these birds is significantly reduced.

White wagtail. Video (00:02:49)

The White Wagtail is a very good small bird that can be found in our area from April to September.

White Wagtail - part 2. Video (00:04:01)

The wagtail settled in the very safe place, on a dry tree that formed an island in the middle of the river. Here you can also feed the midges. There is also a nest in a dense bush of grass. But the bird does not immediately go to the nest. With a beam building material she stood nearby in her beak for a long time and waited until no one was looking, so that they would not find out where her house was hidden. Prudent! As soon as I looked away - flutter, and she is already in the nest.

Photo 1 of 3

With wagtail can be found almost everywhere. More often it can be seen near water, and sometimes quite far from water bodies - in fields and pastures, near solitary houses and near large buildings and settlements, as well as high in the mountains. The wagtail inhabits all of Europe, Asia and northern Africa. From its wintering grounds from the Mediterranean Sea to Equatorial Africa, this bird arrives in March and immediately occupies nesting sites, which it vigilantly guards.

The nest is built by the male and female. The material for their work is stems, roots, leaves and pieces. To make the nest softer, the birds line it with wool, horsehair, and sometimes feathers. The nest, which is very similar in shape to a cone, is built in different places. More often it happens in the recesses of the walls of buildings, in the crevices of rocks, hollows of trees, among stacked logs, on beams of floors of houses and on the ground. Only the female incubates the eggs, but both parents feed the chicks for 14 days.

The wagtail is one of the most useful birds. She destroys mosquitoes and flies, which she deftly chases in the air. The use of this bird is especially great in the garden, where it quickly runs around the beds and pecks insect pests from the ground and plants. Sometimes she jumps up to a high leaf and grabs an insect or rises into the air and catches up with the prey that has flown away. The wagtail is a very mobile bird. Even when resting, she constantly waves her long tail. She sits calmly only when she sings her simple, cheerful song.

Wagtail is a trusting bird. She often lets a person in 3-5 steps. From August, white wagtails gather in flocks, which flock in the evening to roost in reed beds, where they spend the night with them, and yellow wagtails. Just before departure, they behave anxiously, their usual gullibility towards a person disappears. Even having settled for the night on the trees, the wagtails call to each other almost until the morning, although no one bothers them.

Autumn migration lasts from September to November. Some individuals remain for the winter in the central part of Europe near ice-free rivers. The wagtail is widespread in our country. Most often it can be found near water and human dwellings. This bird has become a companion of man, almost the same as

The wagtail is found both in open areas and along the banks of fresh waters. She avoids meadows with tall grass, generally loves the proximity of human habitation and the surroundings of populated areas.

The wagtail is a very agile and cheerful bird, trusting to humans, perky with other small birds and bold with predatory ones, which it pursues with a loud cry. When a bird of prey appears, wagtails usually flock from all around, with a loud cry, they pursue the predator with the whole flock and thus warn other birds of the approach of the enemy.

On the ground, the wagtail runs in small steps, while shaking its tail and nodding its head. The strongest of all, she waves her slightly spread tail when she descends to her resting place. Its flight is impetuous, remarkable for its deft rise and fall in the air.

The wagtail's food consists of various arthropods, including aquatic insects, which it often looks for when wandering through shallow water. Her song is not particularly loud, but gentle and pleasant, consisting of several times repeated "civit, civit" and the syllables "ciss, ciss, siss, siss."

The wagtail usually builds its nest in different places near the water, in holes in the soil, between the roots of trees, in the laying of firewood and in other places. Lays eggs twice a summer, at the end of April and in June; eggs are from 5-8 pieces, their color is whitish with small gray dots, and on top of them are reddish-gray spots and dashes. Outside of the breeding season, wagtails often roam in whole communities in the reeds and start quarrels among themselves before going to sleep.

In the central part of Russia, the wagtail stays for a long time, from March April to mid-October, depending on the latitude of the area, and in the southern part it even often winters. It is distributed throughout the country to the northern limits.

The graceful bird is almost 18 centimeters long, its coloration is made up of very successful combination black, gray and white.

Since the wagtail feeds exclusively on insects, it destroys many different harmful mosquitoes, flies and larvae. In this way it benefits the people around whom it lives, and should be considered a useful bird.

white wagtail

The white wagtail is one of our most widespread birds. As the spring waters rustle, so the wagtail flies to us. The banks of rivers and streams, other bodies of water are her favorite habitat. The wagtail feeds exclusively on insects and their larvae.

The nature of the wagtail is unusually lively and mobile. This bird sits quietly and does not wag its tail only when it sings its simple but very cheerful song. However, this song is often sung during a flight or running around in pursuit of insects.

Another character trait of the wagtail is its irreconcilable hostility to birds of prey, which it pursues with unusual ferocity and courage. Often swallows and other birds join this pursuit.

Wagtails nest not far from the water - in the cracks of the banks, on the crossbars under the bridges, in wooden woodpile, in the hollows of coastal willows, on dry stumps. The female lays 6-8 testicles, densely mottled on a light whitish background with many small grayish spots. One female incubates the chicks, and the male also helps to feed them. Wagtails usually make two or even three conclusions in the summer. Towards autumn, young of all conclusions unite in one flock and begin to lead a nomadic life in water meadows and vegetable gardens. With the onset of autumn frosts, these cute birds leave us.

In captivity, the white wagtail lives well in a large common cage in the company of other birds.

In addition to the white wagtail, you can also find the yellow wagtail. In character, voice and mannerisms, it is very similar to the white wagtail.

Lives in our country (and not only in ours) a small bird - a white wagtail. What kind of birdie is this, why is it remarkable and why was it called that - our today's article is about all this.

There is a bird in the wagtail family, for which people have come up with many of their own names: pliska, titmouse, vanka, icebreaker.

Such different words they call the white wagtail - a small, mobile bird. Its habitat is North Africa and most of the Eurasian continent. From the cold polar deserts to China and India, you can find this birdie. In the temperate zone lives constantly, only occasionally wanders in search of food. But from colder places for the winter it flies to South Africa and to the shores of the Mediterranean Sea.

Why was she named that?

A bird from the order of passerines, therefore, outwardly it looks a bit like sparrows. The body of a white wagtail is only about 20 cm long. Her outfit is beautiful: she herself is all gray, but her belly is bright white, on her chest black spot like an apron. The same speck on a small white head, resembling a cap. The eyes are black, round, like small beads. In males, the coloration is more pronounced, clearly.

With its long tail, the bird continuously pulls, shakes - hence its name. And also constantly she moves quickly on her springy, chiseled legs.

Lifestyle of the white wagtail

The white wagtail loves boda and always takes “baths” with pleasure

The wagtail arrives in its native land with the first signs of spring. Since ancient times, people have noticed that with the arrival of this bird, one must wait for the opening of the rivers from ice. Often on the river during the ice drift one can observe the following picture: among the huge breaking ice floes, a small bird jumps, flies, whistles, shakes its tail. So they say "the tail breaks the ice."

In the first puddles, the wagtail arranges cold baths for itself. It happens that in the morning the puddle will be covered with ice. The bird jumps on it, shakes its tail, flaps its wings, just like a ballerina.
As soon as the ice melts under the sun's rays, it flops into a puddle without fear ice water. Or running around looking for bugs in the melted earth.

White wagtails feed, except for beetles, caddisflies, occasionally berries and fruits. But the main food is flying insects such as midges, small flies, mosquitoes, butterflies. She feeds on them right on the fly.

Listen to the voice of the white wagtail

Birds try to stay in open spaces near water bodies, because there are more flying insects. They can also often be found near human habitation. In settlements, wagtails build their nests in stacks of logs, in woodpile, in crevices and recesses in walls, under the roof. Some researchers note that these birds now nest much more readily in cities than in the wild.

How do wagtails reproduce

After arrival, the flock breaks into pairs.

During the mating season, males lek, their song is similar to a variety of chirps. But the most interesting is the mating dance. The male spreads both wings, or one. Draws circles around the female with its wing. At the same time, the tail is fluffy, constantly in motion and it seems that he is dancing, bowing.

Then they begin to build a nest from dry small twigs, grass and fluff. Where can you not see the nest of these birds! In a pile of deadwood, under the roots of twisted trees, in free hollows, in rock crevices, between stones, and even just in heaps of garbage. Both carry nest materials, but only one female builds it.

The chicks are hatched twice: in early spring and summer, in June. The female lays 5, sometimes 6 white eggs with grayish spots in the nest. The female incubates the eggs for 2 weeks without leaving the nest. The male feeds her at this time. And both parents are already looking for food to feed the chicks.

Wagtails are small, slender songbirds from the order of passerines of the Wagtail family. Their average length is up to 20 cm, wingspan is 20-25 cm, weight reaches 20-30 g.

The plumage color of birds is dominated by black, gray and White color a. Wagtails are distinguished by high legs, straight thin legs, a thin straight beak and a long tail, which the bird characteristically shakes while running on the ground in search of food.

Why is it called

While hunting for food, the wagtail moves quickly on the ground in different directions and at the same time dynamically shakes its tail up and down (shaking its tail). The tail is the back of the body in birds.

What does it eat

Birds eat only insects. Some of them, such as dragonflies, can be caught on the fly. But much more often, while hunting, wagtails quickly run along the ground, and when they stop, they shake up and down with their long tail. It is this characteristic behavior (the fact that the birds constantly shake their tail) that caused such a name for the genus.

Where does it live

Most species of wagtails are widespread in Europe and Asia, some live in Africa. The white wagtail often settles near people. For nesting, these birds prefer areas located near fresh water bodies, lakes and rivers, as well as swampy places, and deciduous forests.

Migratory bird?

The migration of wagtails depends on the habitat of each specific population. Basically, all residents of the northern regions are migratory birds. Wagtails winter in southern Europe, Asia, and Africa. Endemic to the African continent, the islands of Madagascar are sedentary birds.

Kinds

White Wagtail

The body length of the bird is from 15 to 19 cm, weight is about 25 g. The plumage on the back is gray, the abdomen is white. The head is painted white, decorated with black feathers on the throat and in the form of a cap. The bird has a long tail characteristic of the species.

The species is distributed in Asia, Europe, North Africa, Alaska. In warm areas, it is sedentary, and the northern populations fly to Africa for the winter.

Body length from 17 to 20 cm, with a long tail characteristic of the species. The plumage of the male during the nesting season is mostly gray on the back and yellow on the belly with white flanks. The neck is black, which distinguishes the mountain wagtail from its closest relative, the yellow wagtail.

The bird lives in North Africa and Eurasia. Most of the population are migratory birds that migrate to tropical Africa in winter.

The mountain wagtail chooses for nesting areas near water bodies - the banks of streams, rivers, swamps, wet meadows.

There is a bird in Africa (Angola, Burundi, Botswana, Cameroon) in tropical and subtropical mountain forests. The color of the plumage is dominated by shades of gray. The top of the bird is darker, the bottom is light gray. Wings black with white.

The smallest representative of the wagtail genus with a body length of about 15 cm and a weight of up to 17 g. The yellow wagtail is a slender bird with a long tail. The upperparts of males and females are gray with a greenish or brownish tinge. Wings - brown-ocher. The tail is dark brown with white feathers. Legs are black. Subspecies of the bird differ in characteristic patterns on the head.

A distinctive feature of the species is the bright yellow plumage of the abdomen and breast in males, and pale yellow in females. The young growth is painted in gray-brown colors.

The habitat of the species is Eurasia, northern Africa, Alaska. The bird nests in swamps, wet meadows, along the banks of rivers and lakes.

A slender bird with a body length of up to 17 cm and a long tail, a wingspan of 24 - 28 cm. It looks very much like a yellow wagtail. But yellow in its plumage is more pronounced precisely in the head area. The abdomen is usually light yellow or grey.

During the nesting period, the species lives in wet meadows and in the Siberian tundra, and migrates to southern Asia for the winter.

The species is distributed on the island of Madagascar, where it lives in subtropical or tropical regions, in the lower reaches of fields, near rivers. Externally, it is very similar to the white wagtail, slightly lighter in plumage.

The body length of the bird is about 20 cm, the wingspan is 20–25 cm, the tail length is up to 9 cm. The back is painted black, a white wide “eyebrow” stands out on the head, the chin and neck are white. The tummy and wings are also painted mostly white.

The species is sedentary, found only in African countries located in the south of the Sahara. Often nests near human habitation at altitudes up to 3000 meters above sea level.

The weight of the bird reaches 18 g, the wingspan is about 20 cm, the tail length is up to 8 cm. The plumage of the male during the nesting period in the head, neck and upper back is coal-black. The head is sometimes adorned with a white or yellow "eyebrow". The top of the bird is gray-yellowish-green, the abdomen is bright yellow or white. The wings are brown with separate white and yellow feathers. The legs and beak are black.

The female is greenish-brown above with a gray rump. In young birds, brown tones with black streaks predominate in plumage.

Migratory species, common in Europe and Asia.

Male and female: main differences

Sexual dimorphism in wagtails is rather weakly expressed. Usually females and young are paler than males. Only in certain species, for example, in the black-headed wagtail, significant differences are noticeable - the color of the male is rich with bright black, yellow, white colors, while the females look unremarkable and are colored in olive-brown tones.

Content at home

In captivity, white wagtails are often kept. The bird slowly gets used to home conditions, although it is not afraid of people. Sings often and melodiously.

In nutrition, wagtails are picky, willingly eat the usual mixture for insectivorous birds with the addition of bloodworms or mealworms, a soft mixture (cottage cheese, egg yolk, carrots, gammarus).

Breeding of wagtails in captivity is not practiced.

• The wagtail is the official symbol of Latvia.
• In nature, wagtails live for about 10 years, in captivity they live up to 12 years.
• The wagtail is also called the icebreaker, as the bird returns from wintering to the beginning of the ice drift on the rivers.
• The diet of wagtails includes flies and mosquitoes, as well as pests, which makes the bird useful for humans, especially in rural areas.

Singing

The song of wagtails is melodious, but uncomplicated. Males chirp cheerfully and fervently during the mating season, either making quiet squeaking sounds, or chirping loudly, or chirping softly. By the way, it is only during singing that the male wagtail ceases to make characteristic movements with its tail.