mdahlem.net WWW

Birds of Oman home   Bird names   News    Family groups 1-26    Tips   Glossary   Plumage   Thumbnails    General information    Credits    PHOTOS FOR SALE
NON-PASSERINES     1    2    3    4    5    6    7    8    9    10     11     12     13     14	15     16     17     18     19     20     21     22     23     24    25    26    PASSERINES
Common names sorted alphabetically: B   C   D   E   F   G   H   I   J   K   L   M   N   O   P   R   S   T   V   W

24

Western Yellow Wagtail (Motacilla flava) Alternate name(s): "Yellow Wagtail" (many others for individual races) Size: 15-16 cm; wing span: 23-27 cm; Weight: 16-22 g

Oman: Family Group 24 Family Group 24 Table Grey Wagtail White Wagtail House Sparrow Indian Silverbill Striolated Bunting Black-crowned Sparrow Lark Tree Pipit Thumbnails page Classification table Index of bird names Birds of Oman home page

Similar species

Description     Classification     Distribution     Sightings     Photos     Breeding     Nest     Eggs     Behaviour     Food     Call/s

Physical description Click here for a physical description Western Yellow Wagtails are the smallest in the genus Motacilla. Their plumage is dimorphic, i.e. males and females are different. Male Western Yellow Wagtails, nominate race "flava", have a bright yellow front, from the throat all the way down to the undertail coverts. The crown, sides of the head and nape of the neck are grey, with a prominent white eyebrow. The mantle is yellowish-grey, while the flight feathers and the tail are dark-grey with light-grey edge lining. Female Western Yellow Wagtails have much more inconspicuous colours. Their throat and chest are greyish with a yellow tinge. The belly and undertail coverts are pale-yellow. The upperparts and the head are very similar to those of males. Both sexes have black irises, a dark-grey bill and long, dark-grey legs and feet. Juvenile Western Yellow Wagtails start off with a light-grey front and a darker-grey back; immature birds gradually develop yellow patches, first on the head and the vent.

Taxonomy, classification See Yellow Wagtail at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat Click here for information on habitat and range The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found, based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to ebird.org . The global distribution of the Western Yellow Wagtail is available HERE . Altogether, the about 15-20 currently recognized races of Western Yellow Wagtails have a wide-spanning range. They occur from western Europe to central Asia, migrating southward to parts of Africa and southern Asia. During the winters or migration, Western Yellow Wagtails of nominate race "flava" can be found in parts of Arabia, including the North coast of Oman.

Sightings Click here for sighting information Race "flava" A single Western Yellow Wagtail, nominate race "flava", was spotted by us on the Campus of Sultan Qaboos University, near Muscat, in October 2009. Western Yellow Wagtails, race "flava", were also spotted by us in Europe.

Photos

Race "flava"

ADULT

Additional information

Adult Western Yellow Wagtails were photographed in Europe.

IMMATURE/JUVENILE

Frontal view of an juvenile Western Yellow Wagtail
[Campus of Sultan Qaboos University, near Muscat, October 2009]

Near-frontal view of an juvenile Western Yellow Wagtail checking out the photographer
[Campus of Sultan Qaboos University, near Muscat, October 2009]

Near-lateral view of an juvenile Western Yellow Wagtail
[Campus of Sultan Qaboos University, near Muscat, October 2009]

Lateral view of an juvenile Western Yellow Wagtail
[Campus of Sultan Qaboos University, near Muscat, October 2009]

Lateral/ventral view of an juvenile Western Yellow Wagtail
[Campus of Sultan Qaboos University, near Muscat, October 2009]

Near-lateral view of a juvenile Western Yellow Wagtail hovering near a pond
[Campus of Sultan Qaboos University, near Muscat, October 2009]

Food, Diet

Like all Motacilla wagtails known to us, Western Yellow Wagtails are insectivores.

Call(s)/Song

For this species we have recorded the following call(s)/song. The interpretation of their meaning is our own; comments and suggestions for improvement are welcome.

yelwagt_dw_20200604.m4a	flava (Poland)	Contact calls?	© DW
yelwagt_jp_20200316.m4a	iberiae (SW Portugal)	Contact call? (male)	© JP
yelwagt_jp_20200505.m4a	iberiae (SW Portugal)	Contact calls?	© JP
yelwagt_jp_20200517.m4a	iberiae (SW Portugal)	Contact calls? (in-flight)	© JP
yelwagt_jp_20200316_2.m4a	iberiae (SW Portugal)	Various (male)	© JP

More Western Yellow Wagtail sound recordings are available at xeno-canto.org .

These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our contributors. The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species please refer to a field guide.

Would you like to contribute photos or sound recordings to this site? If interested, please CLICK HERE. Credits to contributors are given HERE.

Disclaimer: Comments are always welcome. We give no guarantee that the information presented on these pages is always correct or up-to-date. External links are marked as such and we take no responsibility for the contents of external pages. All images on this site are protected by copyright & used by permission of the respective owners. If you wish to reproduce them or any of the material presented on this web site, please contact us: We hereby acknowledge the original custodians of the land which is described on these pages, including the Gomeroi/Gamilaraay people of the North-west Slopes and Plains of NSW, and the traditional owners of other lands and nations within this country. We acknowledge elders past, present and emerging. Sovereignty was never ceded.          Last updated: Fri, 2 June 2023, 20:19 +00:00