White Wagtail
White Wagtail
Motacilla alba
Also known as: Pied Wagtail · WHWA
Aves
COMMON

Stats

Lifespan
2-12 yrs
Size
Small
Diet
Insectivore
Activity
Diurnal
Social
Flock
Biome
Freshwater wetland
Range
Europe and Asia
Movement
Flight
Breeding
Egg-laying
Defense
Flight
Status
Common

About

A slender black-and-white songbird known for its constant tail-wagging as it walks, often seen strutting across parking lots and rooftops in search of insects. It's one of the most widespread birds in the world, breeding across nearly all of Europe and Asia.

Life cycle

  1. 1.
    egg
    A small clutch of speckled eggs is incubated in a cup nest, turned and kept warm by the parent.
  2. 2.
    hatchling
    A pink, blind hatchling is fed by its parents in the nest, gaping its bill at every visit.
  3. 3.
    juvenile
    A feathered juvenile fledges from the nest, learning to fly and to forage close to its parents.
  4. 4.
    adult
    Fully grown with adult plumage and song.

Learn more

Taxonomy

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