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bird Yellow Wagtails

Identify It >   Birds Section >   Yellow Wagtails >


Scientific name:  Motacilla flava

Size:  Approximately 16cm long.  Wingspan approximately 25cm

Distribution:  Found throughout most of England, east Wales and southern Scotland

Months seen:  April to October. Migrates to Africa in winter

Habitat:  Fields, damp meadows, marshes and riversides

Food:  Invertebrates

Special features:  Yellow Wagtails have mainly yellow and green plumage.  The wing feathers are dark grey with off-white wing bars.  The beak and legs are black.

Yellow wagtails are slender birds, with short tails, which they frequently wag up and down (hence the name).

The number of Yellow Wagtails has declined in recent years due mostly to habitat loss.


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