Cygnus cygnus 'Sangsvane' Whooper Swan

Sangsvane

Beskrivelse

Voksne sangsvaner har en helt hvit fjærdrakt og blir normalt omkring 140–160 cm lange. Vingespennet er cirka 205–235 cm og vekten 8–15 kg. Det er ikke lett å se forskjell på kjønnene. Ungfuglene har grå fjærdrakt og lyserødt nebb. Både når de flyr og svømmer kan sangsvanene gi fra seg kraftige trompetaktige lyder. Sangsvanene skilles fra knoppsvanene på det gule nebbet og en rettere hals.

Adferd

Sangsvanene lever nesten utelukkende av vannplanter. De beiter mest på bunnplanter og foretrekker grunne innsjøer med mye vegetasjon, gjerne mindre vann i skoglandskap.

De hekker på Island og i de arktiske delene av Skandinavia og Russland. I Norge hekker de helst i Finnmark og Troms, men enkelte hekkende par har blitt observert så langt sør som i Østfold. Hekkingen foregår i myrer og sumpområder, helst ved åpent vann. Sangsvanene er svært sky i hekketiden. Begge kjønnene bygger reiret, som ofte blir benyttet flere år på rad. Hekkingen begynner i april eller mai. Hunnen legger 4 til 6 egg som ruges i 30 dager før de klekkes.

Utover høsten blir de ofte værende på hekkeplassen til isen legger seg hvoretter de trekker sørover. Vestvågøy i Lofoten har en vinterbestand som varierer fra 110-200 individer, men hovedsakelig trekker de ned langs kysten av Sør-Skandinavia, Danmark og Nord-Tyskland. Bestanden som hekker på Island overvintrer på de britiske øyer. De overvintrer enten i isfrie innsjøer og elver eller i lune saltvannsbukter med god bunnvegetasjon.

I Norge er bestanden av sangsvaner mange ganger større under overvintringen enn den er i hekkeperioden. Så snart isen går vender fuglene tilbake til hekkeområdene. Det overvintrer blant annet sangsvaner i Nordre Tyrifjorden våtmarkssystem i Buskerud. Vinteren 2007/2008 var bestanden der nesten dobbelt så stor som i 2006/2007.

Sangsvane er en av tre svanearter som lever i Norge. De to andre artene er knoppsvane og dvergsvane.

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Whooper Swan

Description

The Whooper Swan is similar in appearance to the Bewick's Swan. However, it is larger, at a length of 140–165 cm (55–65 in) and a wingspan of 205–275 centimetres (81–108 in). Weight typically is in the range of 7.4–14 kilograms (16–31 lb), with an average of 9.8–11 kg (22–24 lb) for males and 8.2–9.2 kg (18–20 lb) for females. The verified record mass was 15.5 kg (34 lb) for a wintering male from Denmark. It is considered to amongst the heaviest flying birds. It has a more angular head shape and a more variable bill pattern that always shows more yellow than black (Bewick's Swans have more black than yellow).

Distribution and behaviour

Whooper swans require large areas of water to live in, especially when they are still growing, because their body weight cannot be supported by their legs for extended periods of time. The whooper swan spends much of its time swimming, straining the water for food, or eating plants that grow on the bottom.

Whooper swans have a deep honking call and, despite their size, are powerful fliers. Whooper swans can migrate many hundreds of miles to their wintering sites in northern Europe and eastern Asia. They breed in subarctic Eurasia, further south than Bewicks in the taiga zone. They are rare breeders in northern Scotland, particularly in Orkney, and no more than five pairs have bred there in recent years. This bird is an occasional vagrant to western North America. Icelandic breeders overwinter in the United Kingdom and Ireland, especially in the wildfowl nature reserves of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and of the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust.

Whooper swans pair for life, and their cygnets stay with them all winter; they are sometimes joined by offspring from previous years. Their preferred breeding habitat is wetland, but semi-domesticated birds will build a nest anywhere close to water. Both the male and female help build the nest, and the male will stand guard over the nest while the female incubates. The female will usually lay 4-7 eggs (exceptionally 12). The cygnets hatch after about 36 days and have a grey or brown plumage. The cygnets can fly at an age of 120 to 150 days.

Influence

Whooper Swans are much admired in Europe. The Whooper Swan is the national bird of Finland and is featured on the Finnish 1 euro coin. The Whooper Swan is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies.

The global spread of H5N1 reached the UK in April 2006 in the form of a dead Whooper Swan found in Scotland.

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Passer moabiticus 'Dead Sea Sparrow'

Dead Sea Sparrow

The Dead Sea Sparrow (Passer moabiticus), as its name suggests, is a breeding bird around the River Jordan, Dead Sea, and into Iraq, Iran and western Afghanistan. Breeding recorded in Cyprus (1981/1982) but is probably extinct there now. It is migratory or dispersive, although the regular wintering grounds of this nomadic species are largely unknown, except that the eastern race winters in Pakistan. Flocks of the nominate western race have been found in winter further south in the Middle East.

It is a small 12–13 cm long sparrow which breeds in dry lowlands with some shrubs, including tamarisk, and access to water. It builds a nest in a tree, and 4-7 eggs are laid.

The male Dead Sea Sparrow has a grey crown, rear neck and cheeks, and a small black bib. It has a pale supercilium shading to buff at the rear, and yellow neck sides. The upperparts are dark-streaked reddish brown, and the underparts are grey-white.

The female is like a small House Sparrow, with a streaked brown back, greyish head and buff-white underparts. She is paler and smaller billed than her relative, and sometimes shows yellow on the neck sides.

The eastern race P. m. yatii is sandier, and the male has a yellow wash to the underparts.

This species feeds principally on seeds, like other sparrows. The chirping song resembles those of House and Spanish Sparrows, but is weaker. The flight call is a high-pitched chi-wit. This species is often silent.

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Larus ridibundus 'Hettemåke' Blackheaded Gull

Hettemåke

Hettemåke eller lattermåse (Larus ridibundus) er en av de vanligste måkene, men i Norge er arten i tilbakegang og blir nå oppført som nær truet på Nasjonal rødliste. Hettemåke ble valgt til Årets Fugl i 2011 av Norsk Ornitologisk Forening.

Kjennetegn

De voksne fuglene har grå overside, mens resten av kroppen er hvit. Føttene er røde og med svømmehud mellom tærne. Nebbet er også rødt og sammen med den hvite stripa i fremkant av vingene, er karakteristisk for hettemåken. De har store spisse vinger og flyter lett. Både hann- og hunnfugler er like. Ungfugl har en mer brunspettet fjærdrakt. Hettemåken er 36 cm lang og har vekt på om lag 300 gram. I sommerdrakten har hettemåken sin karakteristiske svarte hette. Den har et vingespenn på ca. 95–105 cm.

Hekking

Hettemåken hekker i kolonier ved sjøen og ferskvann. De aller fleste hettemåkene trekker sørover om vinteren, mange til Vest-Europa, enkelte helt til Nord-Afrika.

Utbredelse

Hettemåken har en minskende bestand. Den eksisterer i kyststrøk og i innlandet nær vann helt nord til Varangerfjorden. Hovedbestanden er likevel i Sør-Norge rundt Oslofjorden.

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Larus ridibundus 'Hettemåke' Blackheaded Gull, Tiberius, Sea of Galilee, Israel 22.12.2010

Black-headed Gull

The Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus) is a small gull which breeds in much of Europe and Asia, and also in coastal eastern Canada. Most of the population is migratory, wintering further south, but some birds in the milder westernmost areas of Europe are resident. Some birds will also spend the winter in northeastern North America, where it was formerly known as the Common Black-headed Gull. As is the case with many gulls, it had previously been placed in the genus Larus.

This gull is 38–44 cm (15-17½ in) long with a 94–105 cm (37–41 in) wingspan. In flight, the white leading edge to the wing is a good field mark. The summer adult has a chocolate-brown head (not black, despite the name), pale grey body, black tips to the primary wing feathers, and red bill and legs. The hood is lost in winter, leaving just dark vertical streaks. This is a noisy species, especially in colonies, with a familiar "kree-ar" call. Its scientific name means "laughing gull".

It breeds in colonies in large reedbeds or marshes, or on islands in lakes, nesting on the ground. Like most gulls, it is highly gregarious in winter, both when feeding or in evening roosts. It is not a pelagic species and is rarely seen at sea far from coasts.

The Black-headed Gull is a bold and opportunist feeder and will eat insects, fish, seeds, worms, scraps and carrion in towns, or take invertebrates in ploughed fields with equal relish.

This species takes two years to reach maturity. First-year birds have a black terminal tail band, more dark areas in the wings, and, in summer, a less fully developed dark hood. Like most gulls, Black-headed Gulls are long-lived birds, with a maximum age of 63 years recorded in the wild.

Uses

The eggs of the black headed gull are considered a delicacy by some in the UK and are eaten hard boiled.

Australian discovery

In the 1990s, local Broome birder Brian Kane saw a strange species of bird while trawling the local sewer ponds. Upon seeing this bird, he called one of his many bird-watcher friends to verify the species, who confirmed that it was indeed a Black-headed Gull that Brian had stumbled across. This was the first recorded sighting of the species in Australia.

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Procavia capensis syriaca 'Syrisk Klippegrevling' Syrian Rock Hyrax

Klippegrevlinger

Klippegrevlinger er en liten pattedyrgruppe som er i nær slekt med elefanter og sjøkyr. I motsetning til disse to gruppene er klippegrevlingene forholdsvis små, rundt 30 til 50 cm, og ligner litt på gnagere.

Når de beiter, benytter de hovedsakelig jekslene, en lite effektiv metode sammenlignet med hva vi finner hos mer moderne hovdyr og gangere. Deres metabolisme er lav, og de klarer seg dermed med fhv. lite næring. Fremre del av kjeven har tenner som minner og kraftige huggtenner, og som i øvre kjevehalvdel vokser hele livet. Disse antas å være rudimentære støttenner.

Hodet, ørene, bena og halen er korte og kompakte. De har hover på den første og tredje tåa av bakbeina. På grunn av spesielt myke «puter» under føttene, som sammen med muskler og svettekjertler fungerer som sugekopper, er de glimrende klatrere.

De fleste artene lever i klipper og fjell, men noen arter er også nattaktive trebeboere (tregrevlinger, Dendrohyrax).

Øynenes blinkhinne er modifisert til å fungere som «solbriller», så de kan holde utkikk etter rovfugler selv i sterkt solskinn.

Dagens arter er siste rest av en gruppe dyr som en gang utviste langt større variasjon i henhold til både form og størrelse. Det fantes kjemper så store som neshorn og langbeinte arter tilpasset løping. Nåtidens arter har mer eller mindre trukket seg tilbake til leveområder hvor det er liten konkurranse om ressursene klippegrevlingene er avhengige av.

Klippegrevlinger i Bibelen

Ifølge Loven om rene og urene dyr i Bibelens Tredje mosebok kapittel 11 vers 1-40 må ikke klippegrevlinger spises: «Herren talte til Moses og Aron og sa til dem: (...) 4 Av drøvtyggere og klovdyr er det bare disse dere ikke må spise: (...) 5 og klippegrevlingen, for den tygger drøv, men har ikke klover; den skal dere holde for uren; (...) 40 Den som spiser av dyret, skal vaske sine klær, og han er uren til kvelden.»

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 Procavia capensis syriaca 'Syrisk klippegrevling' Kapernaum, Israel 21.12.2010

Procavia capensis syriaca 'Syrian Rock Hyrax' Capernaum, Israel 21.12.2010

Rock hyrax

The rock hyrax (Procavia capensis) or Cape hyrax, is one of the four living species of the order Hyracoidea, and the only living species in the genusProcavia. Like all hyraxes, it is a medium-sized (~4 kg) terrestrial mammal, superficially resembling a guinea pig with short ears and tail. The closest living relatives to hyraxes are the modern day elephants and sirenians. The rock hyrax is found across Africa and the Middle East, in habitats with rock crevices in which to escape from predators. Hyraxes typically live in groups of 10–80 animals, and forage as a group. Their most striking behaviour is the use of sentries: one or more animals take up position on a vantage point and issue alarm calls on the approach of predators.

The rock hyrax has incomplete thermoregulation, and is most active in the morning and evening, although their activity pattern varies substantially with season and climate.

Over most of its range, the rock hyrax is not endangered, and in some areas is considered a minor pest. In Ethiopia, Israel and Jordan, they have been shown to be a reservoir of the leishmaniasis parasite.

Characteristics

The rock hyrax is squat and heavily built, adults reaching a length of 50 cm (20 in) and weighing around 4 kg (8.8 lb), with a slight sexual dimorphism; males being approximately 10% heavier than females. Their fur is thick and grey-brown color, although this varies strongly between different environments; from dark brown in wetter habitats, to light gray in desert living individuals. Hyrax size (as measured by skull length and humerus diameter) is correlated to precipitation, probably because of the effect on preferred hyrax forage.

Prominent in and apparently unique to hyraxes is the dorsal gland, which excretes an odour used for social communication and territorial marking. The gland is most clearly visible in dominant males.

The head of the rock hyrax is pointed, having a short neck with rounded ears. They have long black whiskers on their muzzles. The rock hyrax has a prominent pair of long, pointed tusk-like upper incisors which are reminiscent of the elephant, to which the hyrax is distantly related (see below). The forefeet are plantigrade, and the hindfeet semi-digitigrade. The soles of the feet have large, soft pads that are kept moist with sweat-like secretions. In males, the testes are permanently abdominal, another anatomical feature that hyraxes share with their relatives elephants and sirenians.

Thermoregulation in the rock hyrax has been subject to much research, as their body temperature varies with a diurnal rhythm. However, animals kept in constant environmental conditions also display such variation and this internal mechanism may be related to water balance regulation.

Distribution

The rock hyrax occurs across sub-Saharan Africa, with the exception of the Congo basin and Madagascar. A larger, longer-haired subspecies is abundant in the glacial moraines in the alpine zone of Mount Kenya. The distribution continues into northern Algeria, Libya and Egypt, and the Middle East, with populations in Israel, Jordan, Syria, the Arabian peninsula and eastern Turkey.

Ecology and behaviour

Hyraxes live in herds of up to 80 individuals. These herds are subdivided into smaller flocks consisting of a few families. These families consist of 3 to 15 related adult females, a dominant male, and several young. The dominant male defends and watches over the group. The male also marks its territory to avoid any altercations.

In Africa, hyraxes are preyed on by leopards, Egyptian cobras, puff adders, caracals, wild dogs, and eagles. Verreaux's Eagle in particular is a specialist hunter of hyrax. In Israel, the rock hyrax is reportedly rarely preyed upon by terrestrial predators, as their system of sentries and their reliable refuges provide considerable protection. Hyrax remains are almost absent from the droppings of wolves in the Judean Desert.

Feeding and foraging

Hyraxes feed on a wide variety of different plants, including both grasses and broad leafed plants. They also have been reported to eat insects and grubs. The rock hyraxes forage for food up to about 50 metres from their refuge, usually feeding as a group and with one or more acting as sentries from a prominent lookout position. On the approach of danger, the sentries give an alarm call, and the animals quickly retreat to their refuge. They are able to go for many days without water due to the moisture they obtain through their food. Despite their seemingly clumsy build, they are able to climb trees, and will readily enter residential gardens to feed on the leaves of citrus and other trees.

Reproduction

Rock hyraxes give birth to two or three young after a 6–7 month gestation period. The young are well developed at birth with fully opened eyes and complete pelage. Young can ingest solid food after two weeks and are weaned at ten weeks. Young are sexually mature after 16 months, reach adult size at three years, and typically live about ten years. During seasonal changes, the weight of male reproduction organs (testis, seminal vesicles) changes due to sexual activity. Hyraxes were examined and it was found that between May and January, the males were inactive sexually. From February onward, there was a dramatic increase to the weight of these organs, and the males are able to copulate.

Social behaviour

Rock hyraxes are very noisy and sociable. Adults make use of at least 21 different vocal signals. The most familiar signal is a high trill, and is given in response to perceived danger. Rock hyrax calls are referred to as “songs.” Hyrax songs can provide important biological information such as size, age, social status, body weight, condition, and hormonal state of the singer, as determined by measuring their song length, patterns, complexity, and frequency.

The rock hyrax also makes a loud grunting sound while moving its jaws as if chewing, and this behaviour may be a sign of aggression. Some authors have proposed that observation of this behavior by ancient Israelites gave rise to the misconception given in Leviticus 11:4-8 that the hyrax chews the cud; in fact, hyraxes are not ruminants.

The rock hyrax spends approximately 95% of its time resting. During this time, they can often be seen basking in the sun, which is thought to be an element of their complex thermoregulation.

Dispersal

Males have been categorised into four classes: territorial, peripheral, early, and late dispersers. The territorial males are the most dominant. Peripheral males are more solitary and sometimes take over a group when the dominant male is missing. Early peripheral males are juveniles that leave the birth site around 16 to 24 months of age. Late dispersers are also juvenile males, but they leave the birth site much later; around 30 or more months of age.

Names

They are known as dassies in South Africa, and sometimes rock rabbits. The Swahili names for them are pimbi, pelele and wibari, though the latter two names are nowadays reserved for the tree hyraxes. The Dutch name is klipdas. This species has many subspecies, many of which are also known as Rock or Cape Hyrax, although the former usually refers to African varieties. In Arabic, the rock hyrax is called الوبر ("wabr") or طبسون ("tabsoun"). In Hebrew, the rock hyrax is called שפן סלע (shafan sela), meaning rock "shafan", where the meaning of shafan is obscure. Gerald Durrell wrote that in Bafut, in Cameroon, the locals call the rock hyrax the n'eer.

Pharmaceutical use

Rock Hyraxes produce large quantities of hyraceum—a sticky mass of dung and urine that has been employed by people in the treatment of several medical disorders, including epilepsy and convulsions. Hyraceum is now being "rediscovered" by intrepid perfumers who tincture it in alcohol to yield a natural animal musk.

Culture

Rock Hyraxes are classified as non-kosher in the Old Testament/Jewish Torah. Nonetheless, they are also included in Proverbs 30:26 as one of a number of remarkable animals for being small but exceedingly wise, in this case because "the rock badgers are a people not mighty, yet they make their homes in the cliffs".

In Joy Adamson's books and the associated movie Born Free, a rock hyrax that she called Pati-Pati was her companion for six years before Elsa and her siblings came along and took the role of nanny and watched over them with great care.

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Oenanthe leucopyga 'Hvitkronet steinskvett' White-crowned Wheatear

Hvitkronet steinskvett

Hvit Kronet steinskvett ( Oenanthe leucopyga ) er en steinskvett, en liten spurvefugl som tidligere ble ansett å tilhøre trostefuglene Turdidae, men nå snarere anses å tilhøre fluesnapper familien Muscicapidae .

Den 17-18 cm lange steinskvetten er å finne i steinete ørkener i Sahara og på den arabiske halvøy opptil Irak. Det er hovedsakelig en standfugl, men har blitt observert både i Storbritannia og sommeren 2010 også Saltbæk Vig på Sjælland.

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White-crowned Wheatear

The White-crowned Wheatear, or White-crowned Black Wheatear, Oenanthe leucopyga, is a wheatear, a small passerine bird that was formerly classed as a member of the Thrush family Turdidae, but is now more generally considered to be an Old World flycatcher, Muscicapidae.

This large 17–18 cm long wheatear breeds in stony deserts from the Sahara and Arabia across to Iraq. It is largely resident but as occurred as a rare vagrant to western Europe as far away as Great Britain. It nests in crevices in rocks or walls laying 3-5 eggs.

Although most wheatear species have distinctive male and female plumages, adults of both sexes of this species are black except for a white rump and mainly white tail. Full adults have a white crown, not shown by young birds.

The similar Black Wheatear, Oenanthe leucura, also breeds in the western part of the White-crowned Wheatear's range, but the latter has a black inverted Ton its white tail, whereas White-crowned has only a black centre to its tail. The Black Wheatear never has a white crown.

This species mainly eats insects. This wheatear has a loud song, more varied than most of its relatives and often including mimicry.

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Pycnonotus xanthopygos 'Spectacled bulbul'

The White-spectacled Bulbul also known as the Yellow-vented Bulbul, Pycnonotus xanthopygos, is a small bird, a bit bigger than a sparrow. It is 19–21 centimeters in length, and its wingspan is 20–25 centimeters. A stable bird that lives in fruit plantations, gardens, cities etc. It is the most common member of the Bulbul family in Israel and Lebanon. In Turkey, it is mainly found in the coastal Mediterranean region but its range extends from Patara/Gelemiş near Kaş in the west to Türkoğlu in the east. Breeding populations are found from Central and Southern Turkey to Western Syria, The Lebanon, Western Jordan, Israel, Sinai and Western, Central and Southern Arabia.

Both sexes are similar; juveniles have a browner hood and less obvious eye-rings than the adults. The nest – a small cup of thin twigs, grass stems, leaves and moss – is generally located in bushes and lined with hair, shredded bark and small roots. They can be considered as pets if raised by humans at an age not exceeding three weeks. When being raised, people usually feed them with bananas using a stick.

Pycnonotus xanthopygos 'Spectacled bubul' Capernaum, Sea of Galilee, Israel 21.12.10

Motacilla alba 'Linerle' White Wagtail

Linerle

Linerle (eller vippestjert, dansk: vipstjert, svensk: sädesärla) (vitenskapelig navn Motacilla alba) er en fugl som hekker i store deler av Europa og Asia, og deler av Nord-Afrika. Den er standfugl i de mildeste delene av utbredelsesområdet, og trekker for øvrig til Afrika. Arten hekker også i en viss grad i Alaska. Den kommer til Norge i mars-april, og drar sørover igjen omkring september-oktober. Den finnes i hele landet og er valgt som fylkesfugl for Telemark.

Linerlen blir ca. 16-19 cm lang, og kjennetegnes med den karakteristiske vippingen med halen når den går eller løper langs bakken.

Den livnærer seg av insekter og foretrekker åpne områder hvor det er lettere å se og fange bytte. Redet bygges i hulrom i bergvegger og lignende menneskelagde strukturer.

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Motacilla alba 'Linerle' Ein Gedi, Dead Sea, Israel, 20.12.2010

White Wagtail

The White Wagtail (Motacilla alba) is a small passerine bird in the wagtail family Motacillidae, which also includes the pipits and longclaws. This speciesbreeds in much of Europe and Asia and parts of north Africa. It is resident in the mildest parts of its range, but otherwise migrates to Africa. It has a toehold in Alaska as a scarce breeder. In some areas, notably Britain and Ireland, the sub-species Pied Wagtail (M. a. yarrellii) predominates.

This is an insectivorous bird of open country, often near habitation and water. It prefers bare areas for feeding, where it can see and pursue its prey. In urban areas it has adapted to foraging on paved areas such as car parks. It nests in crevices in stone walls and similar natural and man-made structures.

The White Wagtail is the national bird of Latvia.

Description

This is a slender bird, 16.5–19 cm (6½–7½ in) in length (East Asian subspecies are longer, to 21 cm (8¼ in), with the characteristic long, constantly wagging tail of its genus. The nominate subspecies Motacilla alba alba is basically grey above and white below, with a white face, black cap and black throat.

There are a number of other subspecies, some of which may have arisen because of partial geographical isolation, such as the resident British form, the Pied Wagtail M. a. yarrellii, which now also breeds in adjacent areas of the neighbouring European mainland. Pied Wagtail, named for naturalist William Yarrell, exchanges the grey colour of the nominate form with black (or very dark grey in females), but is otherwise identical in its behaviour. Other subspecies, the validity of some of which is questionable, differ in the colour of the wings, back, and head, or other features. Some races showsexual dimorphism during the breeding season. As many as six subspecies may be present in the wintering ground in India or Southeast Asia and here they can be difficult to distinguish. Phylogenetic studies using mtDNA suggest that some morphological features have evolved more than once including the back and chin colour. Breeding M. a. yarrellii look much like the nominate race except for the black back, and M. a. alboides of the Himalayas differs from the Central Asian M. a. personata only by its black back. M. a. personata has been recorded breeding in the Siddar Valley of Kashmir of the Western Himalayas. It has also been noted that both back and chin change colour during the pre-basic moult; all black-throated subspecies develop white chins and throats in winter and some black-backed birds are grey-backed in winter.

The call of the White Wagtail is a sharp chisick, slightly softer than the version given by Pied Wagtail. The song is a pleasant twittering, more regular in White than Pied, but with little territorial significance, since the male uses a series of contact calls to attract the female.

Distribution and habitat

This species breeds throughout Eurasia up to latitudes 75°N, only being absent in the Arctic from areas where the July isotherm is less than 4 °C. It also breeds in the mountains of Morocco and western Alaska. It occupies a wide range of habitats, but is absent from deserts.

White Wagtail is resident in the milder parts of its range such as western Europe and the Mediterranean, but migratory in much of the rest of its range. Northern European breeders winter around the Mediterranean and in tropical and subtropical Africa, and Asiatic birds move to the Middle East, India, and SouthEast Asia. Birds from the North American population also winter in tropical Asia.

Status

This species has a large range, with an estimated gextent of more than 10 million km² (3.8 sq mi). The population size is unknown, but it is believed to be large, as the species is described as "common" in at least parts of its range. Population trends have not been quantified, but the species is not believed to approach the thresholds for the population decline criterion of the IUCN Red List (i.e. declining more than 30% in ten years or three generations). For these reasons, the species is evaluated as Least Concern. The population in Europe appears to be stable. The species has adapted well to human changes to the environment, and has in fact exploited human changes such as man-made structures which are used for nesting sites and increased open areas which are used for foraging. In a number of cities, notably Dublin, large flocks gather in winter to roost

Behaviour

The most conspicuous habit of this species is a near-constant tail wagging, a trait that has given the species, and indeed the genus, its common name. In spite of the ubiquity of this behaviour, the reasons for it are poorly understood. It has been suggested that it may flush prey, or signal submissiveness to other wagtails. A recent study has suggested instead that it is a signal of vigilance to potential predators.

Diet and feeding

The exact composition of the diet of White Wagtails varies by location, but terrestrial and aquatic insects and other small invertebrates form the major part of the diet. These range from beetles, dragonflies, small snails, spiders, worms, crustaceans, to maggots found in carcasses and, most importantly, flies in the order Diptera. Small fish fry have also been recorded in the diet. The White Wagtail is somewhat unusual in the parts of it range where it is non-migratory as it is an insectivorous bird that continues to feed on insects during the winter (most other insectivorous birds in temperate climates migrate or switch to more vegetable matter).

Breeding

White Wagtails are monogamous and defend breeding territories. The breeding season for most is from April to August, with the season starting later further north. Both sexes are responsible for building the nest, with the male responsible for initiating the nest building and the female for finishing the process. For second broods in the subspecies personata the female alone builds the nest as the male is still provisioning the young. Which is a rough cup assembled from twigs, grass, leaves and other plant matter. It is lined with soft materials, including animal hair. The nest is set into a crevice or hole; traditionally in a bank next to a river or ditch, but the species has also adapted to nesting in walls, bridges and buildings. One nest was found in the skull of a walrus. They species will nest in association with other animals, particularly where available the dams of beavers and also inside the nests of Golden Eagles. Around 3-8 eggs are laid, with the usual number being 4-6. Its eggs are cream-coloured, often with a faint bluish-green or turquoise tint, and heavily spotted with reddish brown; they measure, on average, 21 x 15 mm (0.83 x 0.59 inches). Both parents incubate the eggs, although the female generally does so for longer and incubates at night. The eggs begin to hatch after 12 days (sometimes as late as 16 days). Both parents feed the chicks until they fledge at around 14 days, and the chicks are fed for another week after fledging.

Though it is known to be a host species for the Common Cuckoo, the White Wagtail typically deserts its nest if it has been parasitised. Scientists theorise that this occurs because the wagtail is too small to push the intruding egg out of the nest, and too short-billed to destroy the egg by puncturing it.

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