lutea Yellow Wagtail (1 Viewer)

Does anyone know how often this race occurs in Britain? Also can anyone direct me to any articles on the ID of this race.

Thanks in advance.

CB

Motacilla (flava) lutea 'Yellow-headed Wagtail' isn't on the British List.

Kehoe 2006. Racial identification and assessment in Britain: a report from the RIACT subcommittee. British Birds 99(12): 619-645.
www.bbrc.org.uk/Riact.pdf
"...occasional birds resembling the yellow-headed M. f. lutea (which is not on the British List) are most likely to be variant flavissima. Photographs of birds resembling these races are most welcome, but will be treated informally at present."

Best reference for ID is probably Alström & Mild 2003 (Pipits & Wagtails).

Richard Klim said:

Motacilla (flava) lutea 'Yellow-headed Wagtail' isn't on the British List.

Kehoe 2006. Racial identification and assessment in Britain: a report from the RIACT subcommittee. British Birds 99(12): 619-645.
www.bbrc.org.uk/Riact.pdf
"...occasional birds resembling the yellow-headed M. f. lutea (which is not on the British List) are most likely to be variant flavissima. Photographs of birds resembling these races are most welcome, but will be treated informally at present."

Best reference for ID is probably Alström & Mild 2003 (Pipits & Wagtails).

Click to expand...

Thanks Richard.

CB

Cheshire Birder said:

Does anyone know how often this race occurs in Britain? Also can anyone direct me to any articles on the ID of this race.

Thanks in advance.

CB

Click to expand...

Very rarely, CB. But I've a photo of one on my patch! (Many years ago now.)

This is from the 'Advanced Bird Guide' :

"Probably indinguishable from all female-type and extreme yellow-headed Yellow wagtail male.
Almost uniform yellow head resembles Citrine wagtail, but rear crown , hind neck and eye-stripe/ear coverts sometimes darker (concolorous with mantle), in Yellow rarely almost uniform yellow head.
Wing-bar over medium coverts very broad, often extending over more than half of visible part of median coverts (in most Yellow wags. usually 30% of visible part of median coverts.)
Usually deeper yellow underparts than Yellow, whole underparts evenly yellow.
Upperparts olive-green without a trace of grey wash.
Rump often paler (yellow-green) than in most Yellow."

Now, where's that photo?!

H

Edit : I posted above while RK was posting. I must dig the photo out & have a good look - was it just a variant Yellow? (The image on the photo's hardly bigger than a few millimetres if I remember rightly)

Photos found - taken on 29/5/94.

Would be nice to get a professional opinion - any takers?

(Can't upload - they're not digital.)

halftwo said:

Photos found - taken on 29/5/94.

Would be nice to get a professional opinion - any takers?

(Can't upload - they're not digital.)

Click to expand...

Why not beg, borrow or steal a scanner?

John Morgan said:

Why not beg, borrow or steal a scanner?

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Hi John,

The images on the photos are tiny and I suspect that they would be even less clear once processed through my scanner.

I've emailed Martin Garner to ask if he'd be interested in viewing the originals.

H

halftwo said:

Very rarely, CB. But I've a photo of one on my patch!

Click to expand...

I saw and photgraphed a potential lutea last year. I suspect my photos will given an inconclusive id.

CB