White Wagtails are small, lean birds, easily recognizable thanks to their long, black tail with white borders and by the way the walk, bobbing their heads and shaking their tail up and down. White Wagtail. The white wagtail (Motacilla alba) is a species of bird.. Conservation. The white wagtail is a slender bird, 16.5–19 cm (6½–7½ in) in length (East Asian subspecies are longer, measuring up to 21 cm (8¼ in), with the characteristic long, constantly wagging tail of its genus. Motacilla alba. 'At least six subspecies are found, of which a few are rare.' subspecies (Kessel 1989, Lehman 2005, Hamilton et al. It is a very rare visitor to most of North America outside of Alaska. Some of them are now full species. How to identify birds’ eggs; European robin guide: diet, habitat and species facts; They have a stable population of between 130 million and 300 million adult birds. White wagtail is the most common and familiar one. White wagtails, or Motacilla alba, are lively birds found in most of Eurasia and northern Africa. They get their name from the way they wag their tails. To be clear, these are not two different species of bird: Pied Wagtails (Motacilla alba yarrellii) and White Wagtails (Motacilla alba alba) are different subspecies of the same species, which rather confusingly is known as the White Wagtail (Motacilla alba). The subspecies of this species are: Motacilla alba yarrellii - > Ireland, Britain and coastal w Europe / nw Africa (Non-breeding) Motacilla alba alba - > se Greenland, Iceland and the Faroe Is. The Black-backed Wagtail is very similar in appearance, but instead of the gray back pictured in … Its average weight is 25 g and the maximum lifespan in the wild is c. 12 years. There are several subspecies which differ in colour of upperparts and in head pattern. The white wagtail is a slender bird, 16.5–19 cm in length (East Asian subspecies are longer, measuring up to 21 cm, with the characteristic long, constantly wagging tail of its genus. The pied wagtail is a subspecies of the white wagtail. For purposes of simplicity, the rest of the section discussing range and occurrence will not separate the occurrence of the two subspecies of White Wagtail. South of Alaska,the White Wagtail is a The British subspecies is called Pied Wagtail. With its black, white and grey plumage, and a long tail that is constantly wagging, the pied wagtail is aptly named. White Wagtail 8357 Motacilla alba Passeriformes Passeridae 21 cm sub-species Pied wagtail You may also like. Status: Very Rare (< 5 records) Origins: Breeds throughout most of Europe and Asia, and into western Alaska. Advertisement. In the Atlantic, the nominate subspecies (alba) breeds as close as Iceland and Greenland. 'In Assam, white wagtails are found all over from plains to above 1500 m,' says Anwaruddin Choudhury, the author of 'The Birds of Assam'. The "Black-backed Wagtail", also found on rare occasions in North America, was once considered a separate species, but is now considered a subspecies of the White Wagtail. It is a subspecies of the white wagtail, found in mainland Europe. They are not an endangered species. They are found in Europe, Asia and northern Africa.It is possible that climate change is affecting their migration.. Pied wagtail. The White Wagtail is a slender bird, 16.5–19 cm (6½–7½ in) in length (East Asian subspecies are longer, measuring up to 21 cm (8¼ in), with the characteristic long, constantly wagging tail of its genus. VOICE: SOUNDS BY XENO-CANTO The White Wagtail in flight utters a high-pitched “tslee-wee” or “tslee-vit” often repeated and some variants. 2007, Dunn and Alderfer 2011). through continental Europe to the Ural Mts, the Caucasus, c Asia and Middle East / Africa, Arabia and sw, s …