• Welcome to BirdForum, the internet's largest birding community with thousands of members from all over the world. The forums are dedicated to wild birds, birding, binoculars and equipment and all that goes with it.

    Please register for an account to take part in the discussions in the forum, post your pictures in the gallery and more.
ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

Why do wagtails wag tails? (1 Viewer)

A

Allen S. Moore

Well-known member
Isle of Man
I've often wondered while watching my neighbourhood pied wagtails and their occasionally urban grey cousins, why do wagtails wag their tails?
Allen
 
Last edited:
imagedude said:
Because they're happy![/QUOTE

I must admit that I think that they look happy, too, but I thought that serious types would remonstrate with me for suggesting that birds can experience emotions! There again, flocks of choughs swirling in the sky seem to me to be happy, too, but that is probably me transferring my own emotions to them, I would be happy to admit!

Allen
Click to expand...
 
Allen S. Moore said:
imagedude said:
Because they're happy![/QUOTE

I must admit that I think that they look happy, too, but I thought that serious types would remonstrate with me for suggesting that birds can experience emotions! There again, flocks of choughs swirling in the sky seem to me to be happy, too, but that is probably me transferring my own emotions to them, I would be happy to admit!

Allen
Click to expand...
With flocks of Choughs swirling in the sky I would be happy too.....in fact well-choughed! ;)
Click to expand...
 
Steve G said:
With flocks of Choughs swirling in the sky I would be happy too.....in fact well-choughed! ;)
Click to expand...

What can I say? Is there an award for the oldest pun on the Forum?
Sorry!
I read once that one or two choughs turned up in Fife in 1992. Did that really happen?
Allen
 
Grousemore said:
Do they wag their tails?...they 'bob' them surely. ;)
Click to expand...

Yes, but a Bobtail would be a type of cat wouldn't it? Or is it horse?;)

I heard somewhere, I think from John Sparks, that they bob their tails because their original habitat is beside moving water and that the rhythmic movement actually helps to camouflage them on, say, a stone in a stream.

Just repeating what I heard, it's a start anyway

Andrew
 
Last edited:
There was some discussion about this in another birding group that I belong to, and here are some of the responses:
-------------------------------

To conserve Angular momentum

--------------------------------

The influence of time of day and environmental conditions on the foraging behaviours of Willie Wagtails Rhipidura leucophrys

Australian Journal of Zoology 46:137-144...

The Willie Wagtail exhibits a range of foraging behaviours that include tail wagging and wing flashing. It is thought that such movements flush insects from the ground facilitating their capture. As tail wagging is known to result in the emergence of insects and the effect is not related to air currents, it is suggested that this flushing occurs as a result of the changes in the light intensity experienced by the insects i.e. the insect responds to a shadow.

This study found that the birds wag their tails more often under conditions of low light. It is suggested that insects may be less easily startled by the shadow of a bird under low light intensities i.e. there is less contrast, so that wagging the tail more frequently will result in a constant intake rate. And this seems to be the result as Wagtails peck at a relatively constant rate throughout the day.

As well as the flightless arthropods which may or may not respond to these foraging tactics, Wagtails also eat flying insects but insect activity, particularly flight, varies with both time of day (temperature) and light intensity. During the middle of the day, insects are at their most active and the rate of aerial prey captures is also highest. It is during this period also that wing flashing occurs more frequently than tail wagging which is used more at the start and end of the day.

Hence, patterns of foraging behaviour correspond with patterns of insect activity.

--------------------------------------

Happy Birding,
Golden Oriole
 
Interesting read. I assume 'Willie Wagtail' is the Australian name for the Pied Wagtail. I thought their tail 'wagging' was only down to balancing themselves when they perch on narrow objects, but it looks more complicated than that.

Yellow wagtails seem to bob their tails slower but with higher frequency
 
Its always the First bird by my feet when i water the garden. It even beats the Robin and Blackbird and Thrush. I can almost swear that its always 90% in that order.
 
Lark Ascending said:
Interesting read. I assume 'Willie Wagtail' is the Australian name for the Pied Wagtail. I thought their tail 'wagging' was only down to balancing themselves when they perch on narrow objects, but it looks more complicated than that.

Yellow wagtails seem to bob their tails slower but with higher frequency
Click to expand...

Willie wagtail is used in Scotland.

Mike.
 
Why would a wagtail be advantaged by breaking up its silhouette on the water?

If they were trying to hide from either predators or prey they wouldn't run about waving and shouting all day. They chase insects, not creep up on them, so I'd go with the maximum disturbance of their food idea.
 
Not everything animals do is adaptive.

Could the wagging be the result of excess energy plus sizeable muscles (for when movement is really necessary) plus the way its nervous system happens to be wired up?

James
 
Consider the bobbing behaviour of numerous sandpiper species and the different tail wagging styles of wagtails and I think the conclusion would be that these are all related to feeding strategies.
 
I suppose because I mean a bilogical strategy rather than a conscious one.

Birds that bobbed/wagged might have been more successful feeders, hence more successful breeders, hence were selectively successful. You know the kind of thing.

This would mean that they would bob/wag most of the time not just when they were feeding.
 
Warning! This thread is more than 19 years ago old.
It's likely that no further discussion is required, in which case we recommend starting a new thread. If however you feel your response is required you can still do so.

Similar threads

P
Birding in Southern Poland in September
Replies
11
Views
1K
payaminotom
P
Xenospiza
"Erasing history" in the WP
2 3
Replies
46
Views
3K
jurek
jurek
Tired
Why do Blue Jays mimic hawks?
Replies
4
Views
2K
KC Foggin
KC Foggin
B
Red-tailed Hawk? (Ottawa, ON)
Replies
4
Views
675
birdbath
B
John Cantelo
Flocking Grey Wagtails!
Replies
0
Views
776
John Cantelo
John Cantelo

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 2 (members: 0, guests: 2)
Back
Top