MOTACILLA.
Tail long; wings long and pointed, inner secondaries about as long as primaries ; frequenting open country, generally near water ; food, insects, crustacca, and niollusca; nest on ground, holes in rocks, walls, etc.; eggs generally greyish or bully white, freckled or clouded with greyish or yellowish brown.
Motacilla flava flava L BLUE-HEADED WAGTAIL. Fr. Bergeronnette printaniere ; Ger. Gelbe Bachstelze ; Ifal. Cutret tola gialla ; Szved.
summer. Above yellowish green, forehead, crown and nape bluish grey ; lores and ear coverts slightly darker with some white markings ; lines from bill above eye and below ear coverts white, chin often also partially white ; wing coverts with dull yellow tips ; beneath including throat yellow, occasionally orange, flanks and spots on sides of neck yellowish green. Bill, legs and feet black. Winter : browner, feathers of crown with green tips ; breast buff with some dark feathers ; stripes from bill tinged creamy. ? summer. Duller than some green on crown, occasionally a buff tinge on breast and a cluster of green spots on sides of neck. NVinter : as a but eye-stripe yellower, throat and breast paler and more buff, rest of underparts paler yellow. Wing 8 So-85, ? 76-82. Tail 70-79. Tarsus 22-25. Bill 11-12.
Young resemble winter adults but browner above, chin and throat white, eye-stripe buff and underparts darker buff.
Breeds.—N. and C. Europe, north to about 61°, south to Spain, Portugal, N. Italy, S. Russia, east to Urals (interbreeds with "beema" in Ufa Govt.), Caspian, Caucasus. Migratory ; passes through S. Europe and N. Africa ; some winter Morocco and Egypt but majority in C. and S. Africa. Accidental Faroes and Iceland. Regular but rare on passage Britain and has bred.
M. flava dombrowskii (Tschusi). Very close to typical form ; crown, lores, and ear coverts darker, white eyebrow occasionally absent.
Breeds. — Rumania, Dobrudscha, Macedonia to Dalmatia. Occurs on passage Egypt, Palestine, Algeria. Winters in Africa.
M. flava beema Sykes. Summer : forehead and crown paler than typical form, lower parts of ear coverts whiter. Tail usually shorter, e 67-71. Winter : crown greener and greyer, ear coverts greyer.
Breeds.—E. Russia, Orenburg, Ufa, and Samara Govts., and W. Asia. Casual in rest of Europe ; recorded Britain, Germany, Rumania and Italy ; also Tunisia. Winters E. Africa and India.
M. flava leucocephala (Przewalski). S Top of head, ear coverts, lores, cheeks and chin white ; hind neck smoky grey ; otherwise resembles "beema." A N. Asiatic breeding race. Has occurred E. Russia (Perm and Orenburg), and in Egypt and E. Africa on migration.
M. flava thunbergi Billberg. Grey-headed Wagtail. 8' summer. Crown and ear coverts darker, latter almost black with no white admixture ; eyebrow almost or quite absent ; chin only white ; green of upper parts darker. 8' winter and ? distinguishable from typical form by dark ear coverts and no superciliuin.
Breeds.—N. Europe from about 63° N. to tree limits, and in N. Siberia. Migratory ; very rare on passage Britain, Faroes, W. and C. Europe ; irregular Italy and Sicily ; Greece and N.W. Africa not common ; Egypt common especially spring ; Caucasus, E. Russia (Orenburg and Ural Valley), very common. In winter E. Africa common, also occurs then in S. Asia (India to Philippines).
M. flava cinereocapilla Savi. a Paler green than " thun bergi " ; entire chin and throat white ; differs from " flava" in ear coverts being generally darker with no white admixture and generally no eyebrow but a post-ocular white speck ; occasionally bright saffron beneath. 9 as in " flava " but ear coverts darker and more white on throat.
Breeds.—Italy, Sicily, Bosnia. Occurs on passage, Greece, Malta, Egypt (especially spring). Winters N. and tropical A frica.
M. flava iberim Hartert. Eyebrow distinct in front of and behind eye ; otherwise like "cinereocapilla." Breeds.—Spain, Portugal, Balearic Islands, S. France, Algeria.
M. flava rayi (Bonaparte). Yellow Wagtail. d summer. Above (including crown and ear coverts) yellowish green ; eyebrow, cheeks, throat, and entire underparts yellow ; flanks greenish. Winter : upper parts browner, eye-stripe, chin, throat, and upper breast yellowish buff. 9 summer : browner above than e, yellow on head duller and underparts paler. \Vinter less green, more brown above than j, chin and throat almost white, breast more buff coloured and abdomen paler yellow. Young : tst plumage ; above red brown ; beneath reddish buff with black marks on sides of crown and breast ; 1st winter: above brown with green tinge ; beneath, throat white, eyebrow, sides of neck, and chest buff ; breast and abdomen pale yellow.
Breeds.—Britain, W. Holland, N.W. France, Heligoland (occasional), Portugal? Occurs on passage France, Spain, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia. \Vinters S.W. Morocco and W. Africa.
M. flava campestris Pallas. summer. Crown and under parts brighter yellow than in "rayi," ear coverts almost pure yellow.
Breeds.—E. Russia (Samara, Ufa, Perm, Orenburg and Volga Govts.), Kirghiz Steppes, Caucasus. Winters in E. Africa, common in Kenya Colony.
M. flava pygmma Brehm. A small race of "cinereocapilla." Wing 74.
Egypt resident ; but some migrate.
Motacilla feldeggi feldeggi MiChaheBeS. BLACK HEADED WAGTAIL.
j summer. Above yellowish green ; crown, face, ear coverts, nape and occasionally to upper back black ; no eyebrow ; entire underparts, chin to under tail coverts, yellow. Winter : crown and ear coverts fringed greenish brown. ? Crown black with some brown feathers. Wing j 79-88. Tail 70-80. Tarsus 23-26 (W.). Bill 12-13. Some specimens have a yellow eyebrow (" Dd. xanthophrys" Sharpe), others, a white one (" M. paradoxus " (Brehm)). These both occur on spring passage in Egypt.
Peninsula, S. Russia to Astrakhan and Caucasus, and Persia and Asia Minor. Migrates ; occurs on passage in Egypt ; occasional Italy, Algeria, Tunisia ; rare otherwise in Europe. Winters in N.E. Africa south to Kenya Colony and Uganda, and in Arabia.
M. feldeggi melanogrisea (Homeyer). j Crown duller black, more ashy than in "feldeggi," chin and generally a line under ear coverts white ; generally smaller. Wing 8o-85. First winter : lacks olive green on upper parts and yellow on under parts in both sexes ; general colour grey and white, eyebrow whitish, rump slate grey, underparts grey black (Ticehurst).
A W. Asiatic breeding race ; rare on passage in Egypt, has occurred once E. Russia.
Motacilla citreola citreola Pallas.
j summer. Head, neck, and underparts yellow ; on hind neck a black patch ; back and scapulars ashy grey ; wing coverts and secondaries brown with broad white margins. Bill, legs and feet black. Winter : browner, crown greyish green, forehead yellow, no black patch on hind neck. Wing j 81-88, ? 78-83. Tarsus 24-26. Bill 11-13. ? in summer like j in winter ; in winter forehead greyish green. Young : dull grey, whitish beneath, chest slightly spotted ; wing coverts with broad white tips.
Russia (White Sea to Ufa and Samara Govts.) and N. Asia. Winters S. Asia. Rare Egypt, Italy, Austria, Heligoland.
Motacilla cinerea cinerea Tunstall. GREY WAGTAIL. Fr. Bergeronnette jaune ; Ger. Gebirgs-Bachstelze ; Mil. Ballerina gialla ; Swear. Gradrla.
d summer. Crown and upper parts ashy with olive tinge, olive yellow on rump and upper tail coverts ; eyebrow and malar stripe white ; beneath yellow ; chin and throat black with or without white tips ; outer tail feathers white, next two pairs inner web and tip white, outer web black. Bill blackish, paler below at base. Legs and feet fleshy brown. Winter : eye-stripe buff, chin and throat pale buff, breast tinged ochreous. Wing 8o-88, 78-85. Tail a 98-104, Tarsus 20-21. Bill 11-13. ? like e but in summer chin and throat never so black and breast tinged ochreous ; in winter breast more buff and below breast paler yellow.
Breeds.—From S. Sweden, C. and S. Russia, south of Gulf of Finland and British Isles through C. and S. Europe ; also Atlas Mountains, N.\V. Africa ; \V. Canary Islands, and Asia Minor. Accidental in Denmark and Faroes. Migratory in N. Europe, occurs in Egypt on passage and in winter, and in winter in E. and W. Africa.
M. cinerea melanope Pallas. Tail on average shorter, 88-99 ; in winter plumage, yellow often very intense and darker than in typical form.
An Asiatic race, whose breeding range extends west to Caucasus and Mountains of Perm and Ufa.
The length of tail on which "melanope" is chiefly founded is not very constant, but a character (shared also by a specimen from Canary Islands), which is more reliable is that in "melanope" the shaft of the outer tail feather is brown in the middle (6 specimens examined), while in typical " cinerea" it is entirely white (17 specimens examined) ; 2 birds (one an autumn migrant from St Kilda and one a spring migrant from Fair Isle) were the only European specimens with brown on the shaft of that feather.
M. cinerea schmitzi Tschusi. Above darker and greyer ; loves black ; ear coverts very dark ; eyebrow and malar stripe indefinite or absent.
Resident.—Madeira and Azores.
Motacilla alba alba L. WHITE WAGTAIL. Er. Lavandiere ; Ger. \Veisse Bachstelze ; Ital. Ballerina ; Sweet. Ringiirla.
j adult, summer. Forecrown, face, sides of neck, and underparts white ; occiput, nape, throat and chest black, the two latter separated from the black occiput and nape by white ; upper parts pale grey, wing coverts and secondaries with pale tips and margins. Winter : throat white, with a crescentic black band across breast. Bill, legs and feet black. Wing 86-96, 9 81-9o. Tarsus 22-25. Bill 10-12. Q as j but in summer back browner, chin and throat less black and mixed with white, black of crown mixed with grey ; in winter forehead grey, chin and throat dusky white, breast band not so deep black. Young brownish grey above ; beneath white with yellow tinge ; crescent band on chest dark brown.
Breeds.—Continental Europe north to Iceland, Finmark, and N. Russia ; east to Urals, south to Mediterranean. In Britain chiefly on passage but occasionally breeds. Migratory ; winters in S. Europe, N. Africa, Madeira, Canaries, and farther south.
M. alba' dukhunensis Sykes. Like typical form but back clearer grey, white on crown extends farther back, outer webs of greater and median wing coverts generally whiter.
A Siberian breeding race, whose range extends west to Caucasus, Volga and Urals. In E. Russia intermediates between this and typical "alba" are found (" intermedia" of Domaniewski).
M. alba personata Gould. Like typical "alba" but black of throat and neck united, ear coverts black. Breeds.—S.W. Asia. Occurred once- England.
M. alba subpersonata Meade Waldo. Like typical form but lores black, black of throat partly united to that of crown, a white patch being left on sides of neck.
(\Vadi Moor-bey).
Motacilla yarrelli Gould. PIED WAGTAIL.
adult, summer. Resembles " M. alba " but back as well as nape and crown black ; rump black (in both sexes after first moult) ; flanks slaty grey. Bill, legs and feet black. In winter : black on back mixed with grey, on forebreast a black crescentic band. Wing 84-93, 9 82-89. Tarsus 23-25. Bill 10-12. 9 is like but in summer black on breast not so extensive and back greyer ; in winter, back greyer, flanks less dark, wings browner. Young : grey above with greenish tinge, below white tinged with yellow.
Breeds.—S.W. Norway north to Bergen, S.W. Sweden (irregular), British Isles, Holland (rare), Belgium, N.W. France. Partial migrant ; occurs W. Coast Germany and Holland on passage and in winter S. France, Spain, Portugal and Morocco.