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;[[:Category:Motacilla|Motacilla]] citreola | ;[[:Category:Motacilla|Motacilla]] citreola | ||
==Identification== | ==Identification== | ||
| + | [[Image:citrine_wagtail_alok.JPG|thumb|350px|right|Male : Breeding Plumage : Ssp. ''calcarata''<br />Photo by {{user|aloktewari|Alok Tewari}}<br /> Basai Wetlands, Gurgaon, [[India]]]] | ||
15.5-17 cm (6-6¾ in).<br /> | 15.5-17 cm (6-6¾ in).<br /> | ||
Two very noticeable white bars on wing coverts.<br /> | Two very noticeable white bars on wing coverts.<br /> | ||
Revision as of 02:54, 26 March 2017
- Motacilla citreola
Identification
15.5-17 cm (6-6¾ in).
Two very noticeable white bars on wing coverts.
Summer Male: Lemon-yellow head, black hind collar and blue or slate-grey upperparts. Bright yellow below.
Adult Female and winter Male are much duller.
Similar Species
Yellow Wagtail, which lacks the grey back.
Distribution
Citrine Wagtail has a breeding distribution from Russia through Siberia, and south to Iran, Afghanistan, India, Tibet, China, and Myanmar.
The species is migratory at least in parts of its range, and is a rare but regular guest to western Europe.
Accidental vagrant to the United States with one record in Mississippi.
Taxonomy
Generally speaking, citreola is a north-eastern subspecies, werae is south and west of that, and calcarata is south of both.
A recent paper by Pavlova et al. (2003) has proposed that Citrine wagtail should be split into two species, an eastern and a western part[2]. The evidence came from DNA analysis and indicated that when an analysis included Yellow Wagtail, the two populations of Citrine wagtail were not each others closest relatives. This split is not at present accepted by many taxonomic authorities but if it were to become accepted, the western species (corresponding to current subspecies werae) would breed west and south of a line from a little east of the west end of Mongolia to the White Sea, while the eastern species (corresponding to citreola) would be confined to areas north and east of that line. The authors seemed not to sample the range of calcarata.
Subspecies
There are 3 subspecies[1]:
- M. c. citreola:
- M. c. werae:
- Russian and Siberian steppes to eastern Iran, Afghanistan and India
- M. c. calcarata:
- Eastern Iran to northern Afghanistan, Tibet, southern China and Burma
Habitat
Wet meadows, tundra, bogs.
Behaviour
Less inclined to bob the head or wag the tail than other wagtails.
Breeding
It is a ground nester and 4-5 speckled eggs are laid.
Diet
The diet includes insects.
Vocalisation
<flashmp3>Motacilla citreola (song).mp3</flashmp3>
Listen in an external program
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2015. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2015, with updates to August 2015. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- The paper that proposes a split of Citrine Wagtail
- Wikipedia
- Collins Field Guide 5th Edition
- Collins Bird Guide ISBN 0 00 219728 6
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Citrine Wagtail. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 19 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Citrine_Wagtail
External Links
