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Pied or White (1 Viewer)

peteh

Well-known member
When I saw this today on my walk I just put it down as a White Wagtail.
We see many White wagtails going through during spring so I didnt really pay that much attention to it. (Even though it would have been the first for this year.)
When I sent the photo to CJW he queried the black rump which I hadnt even noticed! (Yep Im half asleep today.)

I cracked open the pipits and wagtails book and it mentioned some 1st winter Pied can be extremely pale on the back and very difficult to seperate from Adult White apart from they show blacker rumps. I never knew about this and happily changed my record to Pied wag. Later on I was going through BWPi when I noticed it has a plate of a Adult non-breeding plumage White Wagtail showing a black rump. I read through the text but couldnt find any mention. At the moment I am assuming that the plate is a load of rubbish and this bird is one of those extremely pale Pied wags as mentioned in the Pipit and Wagtail book. Does everyone agree on Pied for this bird?
 

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White wagtail Motacilla Alba Alba

Very light grey uniform back as opposed to a juv pied which would be less defined and more variable.
 
peteh said:
Nah this was the only shot I got.

Interesting bird.

I'd come down in the White Wag camp.

Svensson states that yarellii has back black or dark olive-grey, rump black or blackish-grey and flanks dark (olive-)grey; alba has back ash-grey, rump medium or dark grey, flanks ash-grey (as mantle or paler).

THis bird has back ash-grey (White), rump either dark-grey or blackish-grey (intermediate) and flanks, which we can just see, ash-grey (White). There is a little black in the lower rump, perhaps, but most of the rump contrasts with the black uppertail coverts.

In autumn, the flanks are the best feature IMO. Overall, then, I think it is a White, but its probably a female.
 
There are some in betweeny birds.. but on balance I'd go for alba.. on the abruptness of the demarcation between the mantle and nape... like to see the underparts though
 
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