What are Blue headed wagtails?

Blue-headed Wagtail (Motacilla flava flava) is the continental counterpart of our own Yellow Wagtail (Motacilla flava flavissima) and in males of the races they are easily separable from each other by the colouration of the head.

1. How many types of wagtails are there in the UK?
2. What is the difference between a yellow wagtail and a GREY wagtail?
3. How rare is a yellow wagtail?
4. What is a channel wagtail?
5. What does it mean when a Willie Wagtail follows you?
6. What is the difference between a male and female wagtail?
7. Is there a green wagtail?
8. How do you attract wagtails?
9. Are wagtails solitary birds?
10. Is a GREY wagtail rare?
11. Can you get yellow wagtail?
12. What sound does a GREY wagtail make?
13. Are the blue headed wagtail and yellow wagtail the same species?
14. What can I feed a Willie Wagtail?
15. What do you feed wagtails?
16. How often do Willie Wagtails lay eggs?

How many types of wagtails are there in the UK?

Our three wagtail species are: Yellow Wagtail, a farmland bird that migrates to sub-Saharan Africa; and two which largely remain in the UK over the winter; Grey Wagtail, a river specialist; and the familiar Pied Wagtail. The races of both Pied and Yellow Wagtail breeding in the UK nest almost nowhere else in the world.

What is the difference between a yellow wagtail and a GREY wagtail?

The grey wagtail has a very long, black-and-white tail, a yellow rump and a yellow belly. It is grey above with black wings. ... The similar yellow wagtail has a shorter tail and an olive-green back, and does not have a black bib.

How rare is a yellow wagtail?

Yellow wagtail in brief

The subspecies found in the UK is virtually endemic to the British Isles. The population has fallen by an estimated 75 per cent between 1970 and 2009.

What is a channel wagtail?

'Channel Wagtail' M f flava × flavissima

In northern France, there is an 'intergrade zone' where Blue-headed and Yellow Wagtails regularly interbreed. ... These intergrades are colloquially known as 'Channel Wagtail'. They are the commonest form of Blue-headed to occur in many northern areas of Britain.

What does it mean when a Willie Wagtail follows you?

Willie Wagtail It is believed that having a Willie (or Willy) wagtail as your animal totem brings you to live with the feeling of excitement and gregariousness. Early man likened birds to the gods, believing them messengers or even representations of the gods themselves.

What is the difference between a male and female wagtail?

The male's summer plumage has a white forehead, cheeks and belly; jet-black crown, nape, throat, breast, back, flanks, tail and wings, but the tail has white outer feathers and the wings have white wing bars and white edges. ... The female is mostly dark grey but the crown, throat, breast, rump and tail are black.

Is there a green wagtail?

The yellow wagtail is olivey-green above and yellow below, with a yellow face and a black-and-white tail. Males are brighter than females. The similar grey wagtail also has a yellow belly, but has a grey back and black wings.

How do you attract wagtails?

How to attract them to your garden: Large gardens, close to water, are favoured. Although Pied Wagtails generally eat invertebrates, they may be tempted by crumbs scattered on the ground. numbers in recent years, the longer-term trend is favourable. gardens, favouring those with ponds or larger lawns.

Are wagtails solitary birds?

Outside the breeding season and depending on food availability, pied wagtails are either solitary or gregarious in behaviour. ... They do roost communally during the summer months (less so during the breeding season), but this phenomenon is most noticeable during the winter, when roosts can amount to 3,000 to 4,000 birds!

Is a GREY wagtail rare?

Grey wagtails are relatively rare birds with a population of just 38,000 breeding pairs in the UK. They are, subsequently, classified as Red Status due to this considerably low number.

Can you get yellow wagtail?

You find yellow wagtails in suitable habitat in central and eastern England, eastern Wales and southern Scotland. A good place to look is lowland grassland where cattle are being grazed. You are most likely to see yellow wagtails between late March and September.

What sound does a GREY wagtail make?

Sound: Contact call short, metallic and with a clipped ending. Often disyllabic, "tzeet-tzeet", with each syllable more separated than in White Wagtail, and timbre more "dirty". Song simple but variable.

Are the blue headed wagtail and yellow wagtail the same species?

Blue-headed Wagtail (Motacilla flava flava) is the continental counterpart of our own Yellow Wagtail (Motacilla flava flavissima) and in males of the races they are easily separable from each other by the colouration of the head.

What can I feed a Willie Wagtail?

Diet and Nutrition

Willie wagtails are carnivores (insectivores). They eat a wide variety of insects, including butterflies, moths, flies, beetles, dragonflies, bugs, spiders, centipedes, and millipedes, and have been recorded killing small lizards such as skinks and geckos.

What do you feed wagtails?

What do Wagtails Eat? They eat insects and their larvae, small molluscs, worms and sometimes seeds.

How often do Willie Wagtails lay eggs?

Three cream eggs, speckled with grey and brown, are incubated for 14 days by both parents. The young birds spend about 14 days in the nest then are driven away when the next clutch starts to hatch. In favourable conditions there may be four successive clutches in a season.