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White Wagtail

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Birds

                  iWhite Wagtail
   M. alba yarrellii
   M. alba yarrellii

                             Conservation status

   Least Concern (LC)
            Scientific classification

   Kingdom: Animalia
   Phylum:  Chordata
   Class:   Aves
   Order:   Passeriformes
   Family:  Motacillidae
   Genus:   Motacilla
   Species: M. alba

                                Binomial name

   Motacilla alba
   Linnaeus, 1758

   The White Wagtail (Motacilla alba) is a small passerine in the wagtail
   family Motacillidae, which also includes the pipits and longclaws.

   This species breeds in much of Europe and Asia and parts of north
   Africa. It is resident in the mildest parts of its range, but otherwise
   migrates to Africa. It has a toehold in Alaska as a scarce breeder.

   This is an insectivorous bird of open country, often near habitation
   and water. It prefers bare areas for feeding, where it can see and
   pursue its prey. In urban areas it has adapted to foraging on paved
   areas such as car parks.

   It nests in crevices in stone walls and similar natural and man-made
   structures.

   This is a slender bird, 16.5-19 cm in length, with the characteristic
   long, constantly wagging tail of its genus. The nominate subspecies
   Motacilla alba alba is basically grey above and white below, with a
   white face, black cap and black throat.

   The resident British subspecies, the (British) Pied Wagtail (M. a.
   yarrellii) exchanges the grey colour with black (or very dark grey in
   females), but is otherwise identical in its behaviour.

   It is likely that the differentiation of White Wagtail into two
   subspecies in western Europe has arisen because of the partial
   isolation of the mainly resident British form, although M. a. yarrellii
   now also breeds in adjacent areas of the neighbouring European
   mainland.

   In addition, there are a number of other subspecies, the validity of
   some being questionable. They differ in the colour of the wings, back,
   and head, with some (such as the Masked Wagtail, M. a. personata)
   having an all-black head with a white face mask, and the Moroccan
   Wagtail (M. a. subpersonata) being somewhat similar to a grey-backed
   white-throated African Pied Wagtail.

   Several of these are occasionally proposed to constitute distinct
   species, for example the Black-backed Wagtail or Kamchatka/Japanese
   Pied Wagtail Motacilla (alba) lugens, which is essentially similar to
   the British birds from the opposite end of the species' range, but has
   a black eyestripe and white remiges. On the other hand, mtDNA
   cytochrome b and NADH dehydrogenase subunit 2 sequence data (Voelker,
   2002) suggests that these birds are polyphyletic or paraphyletic. While
   the White Wagtail appears to form a superspecies with the Japanese and
   White-browed Wagtails (and possibly the Mekong Wagtail, the
   phylogenetic position of which is mysterious), the internal systematics
   of the White Wagtail are still unresolved at present.

   White Wagtail (M. a. alba)

   Pied Wagtail (M. a. yarrellii)

   Young bird

   Hybrid between yarrelii and alba, or a yarrelli female
   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Wagtail"
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