|
White Wagtail & Yellow Wagtail
(Motacilla alba, Motacilla flava)
These birds, in search for food,
usually run on the ground, continuously shaking their
tails.
White and yellow wagtails are the
widely distributed.
From these two kinds, the white
wagtail (photo at the right) is known to people better.
Its coloration is light-grey, with white and black
marks. Confusing it with other birds is difficult,
especially when it, not hiding, minces before you on a
road and incessantly shakes its tail.
This bird lives more often on
banks of water reservoirs with sandy shallows and
beaches. Its nest is always hidden very well. It can be
among roots, which hang down from a bank undermined by
water, in a stack of firewood on a glade, under a slate
roof, behind a casing of a window, in holes, old pipes,
and even inside dumped cars. From outside, a nest is
lined with blades, from inside — with feathers and hair.
They sing very seldom, but very
beautiful.
And on meadows, the yellow wagtail settles. It is
bright, like a flower, and have a habit of sitting
constantly on a big blade of grass or on a top of a
lonely bush. This is its observation post. The song of
the male consists of only soft "tzi". But he displays
with his entire body, beautifully inflating the breast
and finely "trembling" by wings in front of his beloved.
They usually build a nest simply on the ground or in a
pit, under overhanging grass. Both parents feed the
young, but they do not come near the nest if they see
that somebody watches them.
They eat mainly flies and other insects. Yellow wagtails
run so quickly, that their legs are almost invisible.
They frequently accompany grazing herds, eating insects
that are attracted to the cattle. Sometimes they even
travel on the backs of grazing animals, flying up from
time to time to catch another fly. In August, young
birds together with adults depart to far Africa for
wintering.
|
