Appearance:

Grey and white wagtail with prominent black markings on head and breast. British Isles subspecies M.a.yarreli (Pied Wagtail) with black back, and M.a.alba (continental) with grey back. Only faint black markings on head in juveniles and in winter plumage, but always shows big dark breast patch. Unmistakable in breeding plumage. Pale individuals of Yellow Wagtail and Citrine Wagtail, differs in lacking large breast patch, and in contact call.

Sound:

Contact calls short and sharp. Usually with disyllabic, "bouncing" quality, and with each syllable only accented, not clearly separated from the other (see Grey Wagtail). Song either slow and primitive, consisting of sharp falling notes given by perched birds, or longer fast and energic bursts in excited song-flight.

Song/contact call:

Distribution:

Wikipedia: map (se also Xeno-canto below)

Ecology:

Birdlife ecology

Links:

Observation.org Latest observations

Video IBC

Image search Flickr NB! May give other species

Sound search at Xeno-canto

Featherbase

CC

Appearance:

Elegant and very long-tailed wagtail. Vent always bright yellow in all plumages. Legs pinkish flesh-coloured, not black. Wings with single white bar, visible both from below and above. Male with black throat in summer. Constantly wags tail, often in a more horizontal posture than congeners. Flight more attenuated and more bounding than in other wagtails. Attached to water and streams.

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. Often starts with the contact call, followed by short melodic phrases. Sometimes with more elaborate song-flight like White Wagtail.

Contact call, flight call:

Distribution:

Wikipedia: map (se also Xeno-canto below)

Ecology:

Birdlife ecology

Links:

Observation.org Latest observations

Video IBC

Image search Flickr NB! May give other species

Sound search at Xeno-canto

Featherbase

CC