Motacilla flava flava (*)
Superregnum: Eukaryota
Cladus: Unikonta
Cladus: Opisthokonta
Cladus: Holozoa
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Megaclassis: Osteichthyes
Cladus: Sarcopterygii
Cladus: Rhipidistia
Cladus: Tetrapodomorpha
Cladus: Eotetrapodiformes
Cladus: Elpistostegalia
Superclassis: Tetrapoda
Cladus: Reptiliomorpha
Cladus: Amniota
Classis: Reptilia
Cladus: Eureptilia
Cladus: Romeriida
Subclassis: Diapsida
Cladus: Sauria
Infraclassis: Archosauromorpha
Cladus: Crurotarsi
Divisio: Archosauria
Cladus: Avemetatarsalia
Cladus: Ornithodira
Subtaxon: Dinosauromorpha
Cladus: Dinosauriformes
Cladus: Dracohors
Cladus: Dinosauria
Cladus: Saurischia
Cladus: Eusaurischia
Subordo: Theropoda
Cladus: Neotheropoda
Cladus: Averostra
Cladus: Tetanurae
Cladus: Avetheropoda
Cladus: Coelurosauria
Cladus: Tyrannoraptora
Cladus: Maniraptoromorpha
Cladus: Maniraptoriformes
Cladus: Maniraptora
Cladus: Pennaraptora
Cladus: Paraves
Cladus: Eumaniraptora
Cladus: Avialae
Infraclassis: Aves
Cladus: Avebrevicauda
Cladus: Pygostylia
Cladus: Ornithothoraces
Cladus: Ornithuromorpha
Cladus: Carinatae
Parvclassis: Neornithes
Cohors: Neognathae
Cladus: Neoaves
Cladus: Telluraves
Cladus: Australaves
Ordo: Passeriformes
Subordo: Passeri
Infraordo: Passerida
Superfamilia: Passeroidea
Familia: Motacillidae
Genus: Motacilla
Species: Motacilla flava
Subspecies: M. f. beema – M. f. cinereocapilla – M. f. feldegg – M. f. flava – M. f. flavissima – M. f. iberiae – M. f. leucocephala – M. f. lutea – M. f. pygmaea – M. f. thunbergi
Name
Motacilla flava Linnaeus, 1758
Synonyms
Motacilla boarula Scopoli, 1769
Motacilla luteola Pallas
Motacilla morealis
References
Linnaeus, C. 1758. Systema Naturae per regna tria naturæ, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis, Tomus I. Editio decima, reformata. Holmiæ: impensis direct. Laurentii Salvii. i–ii, 1–824 pp DOI: 10.5962/bhl.title.542: 185. Open access Reference page.
Alstrom, P., Mild, K., & Zetterstrom, B. (2003). Pipits and Wagtails of Europe, Asia and North America. Christopher Helm/A and C Black, London.
Pavlova, A., Zink, R. M., Drovetski, S. V., Red'kin, Y., & Rohwer, S. (2003). Phylogeographic patterns in Motacilla flava and Motacilla citreola: Species limits and population history. The Auk 120 (3): 744–758.
Vernacular names
aragonés: Enganyapastors amariello
العربية: صعوة
башҡортса: Һары сәпсек
беларуская: Жоўтая сітаўка
български: Жълта стърчиопашка
brezhoneg: Kannerez velen
català: Cuereta groga
čeština: Konipas luční
чӑвашла: Сарă пăрчăкан
Cymraeg: Siglen Felen
dansk: Gul vipstjert
Deutsch: Schafstelze
Ελληνικά: Κιτρινοσουσουράδα
English: Western Yellow Wagtail
Esperanto: Flava motacilo
español: Lavandera boyera
eesti: Hänilane
euskara: Larre-buztanikara
فارسی: صعوه
suomi: Keltavästäräkki
føroyskt: Gulerla
Nordfriisk: Güülbük
français: Bergeronnette printanière
Frysk: Giel Boumantsje
עברית: נחליאלי צהוב
magyar: Sárga billegető
հայերեն: Դեղին խաղտտնիկ
italiano: Cutrettola
日本語: ツメナガセキレイ
kurdî: Dûverzînk
lietuvių: Geltonoji kielė
latviešu: Dzeltenā cielava
монгол: Шар цэгцгий
Bahasa Melayu: Burung Pipit Kuning
Nederlands: Gele kwikstaart
norsk nynorsk: Gulerle
norsk: Gulerle
polski: Pliszka żółta
português: Alvéola-amarela
русский: Жёлтая трясогузка
саха тыла: Араҕас сылгычыай
sicilianu: Pìspisa
davvisámegiella: Fiskesbeštor
српски / srpski: Жута плиска (Žuta pliska)
svenska: Gulärla
Türkçe: Sarı kuyruksallayan
удмурт: Ӵуж йӧгылтӥсь
українська: Плиска жовта
中文: 黄鹡鸰
The western yellow wagtail (Motacilla flava) is a small passerine bird in the wagtail family Motacillidae, which also includes the pipits and longclaws.
This species breeds in much of temperate Europe and Asia. Most populations are migratory, moving south to tropical Africa and southern Asia for the winter; the small population breeding in Egypt is however resident there.
It is a slender 15–16 cm long bird, with the characteristic long, constantly wagging tail of its genus. It is the shortest tailed of the European wagtails. The breeding adult male is basically olive above and yellow below. In other plumages, particularly in juveniles, the yellow may be diluted to whitish. The heads of breeding males come in a variety of colours and patterns depending on subspecies.
The call is a high-pitched jeet.[2]
This insectivorous bird inhabits open country near water, such as wet meadows. It nests in tussocks, laying 4–8 speckled eggs.
Systematics
Motacilla is the Latin name for the wagtail; although actually a diminutive of motare, " to move about", from medieval times it led to the misunderstanding of cilla as "tail". The specific flava is Latin for golden-yellow.[3]
This species' systematics and phylogeny is extremely confusing. Dozens of subspecies have been described at one time or another, and some 15-20 are currently considered valid depending on which author reviews them. In addition, the citrine wagtail (M. citreola) forms a cryptic species complex with this bird;[4][page needed] both taxa as conventionally delimited are paraphyletic in respect to each other. The populations of the Beringian region are sometimes separated as eastern yellow wagtail (M. tschutschensis).
Currently accepted subspecies
Accepted subspecies listed below in IOC order.[5] Plumage colours refer to males except when noted; females are often hard to impossible to identify to subspecies.[6] Vernacular names of the subspecies follow Svensson (1992).[6]
| Image | Scientific name | Common name | Distribution | Characteristics |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Northumberland, UK |
M. f. flavissima (Blyth, 1834) |
Yellow wagtail | Breeding: England, east Wales, southeast Scotland; occasionally on adjacent European coasts. Winter: West Africa, mostly Senegal, Gambia. | Yellow-green head with a brighter yellow supercilium. Females markedly paler below than males. |
 Bashkortostan, Russia |
M. f. lutea (S. G. Gmelin, 1774) |
Yellow-headed wagtail | Breeding: Lower Volga to Irtysh River and Lake Zaysan. Winter: Africa and Indian subcontinent. | Head yellow with green neck in males, females like a somewhat more vivid M. f. flava female. |
 Arnhem, Netherlands |
M. f. flava Linnaeus, 1758 |
Blue-headed wagtail | Breeding: southern Scandinavia (and occasionally on the east coast of Great Britain) to France and central European mountain ranges, east to the Urals. Winter: sub-Saharan Africa. | Blue-grey head with white supercilium and malar stripe in males, much washed with dull green in females. |
 Tyumen, Russia |
M. f. beema (Sykes, 1832) |
Sykes's wagtail | Breeding: North of M. f. lutea, east to Ladakh area. Winter: Indian subcontinent, also east Africa and adjacent Arabia. | Like M. f. flava but head lighter grey, ears washed white; females probably indistinguishable from female M. f. flava. |
 Barcelona, Spain |
M. f. iberiae Hartert, 1921 |
Spanish wagtail | Breeding: south-western France,Iberia, Maghreb from Tunisia to Banc d'Arguin. Winter: The Gambia to the Central African Republic. | Like M. f. flava, but throat white and grey darker, almost black behind eyes. |
 Tuscany, Italy |
M. f. cinereocapilla Savi, 1831 |
Ashy-headed wagtail | Breeding: south-eastern France,Sicily, Sardinia, Italy, Slovenia. Winter: coastal Tunisia and Algeria, Mali to Lake Chad. | Like M. f. iberiae but supercilium absent or vestigial. |
| M. f. pygmaea (A. E. Brehm1854), |
Egyptian yellow wagtail | Nile delta and lower Nile; resident, non-migratory. | Similar to M. f. cinereocapilla, but smaller, less bright. | |
 Penza Oblast, Russia |
M. f. leucocephala (Przevalski, 1887) |
White-headed wagtail | Breeding: north-west Mongolia and adjacent China and Russia. Winter: probably India. | Male like flava, but grey of head very pale, almost white. Female like M. f. flava females, but head somewhat darker. |
 Kurdistan, Turkey |
M. f. feldegg Michahelles, 1830 |
Black-headed wagtail | Breeding: Balkans east to the Caspian Sea, south to Turkey, Iran and Afghanistan; also Levant. Winter: central Africa from Nigeria to Uganda and south Sudan, and east to northern India. | Jet black cap in males, females like a dull M. f. thunbergi male above, washed-out dirty yellowish below, throat white. |
 Oppdal, Norway |
M. f. thunbergi Billberg, 1828 |
Grey-headed wagtail | Breeding: central and northern Scandinavia east to north-west Siberia. Winter: eastern Africa, Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia. | Head dark grey, reaching down to the cheeks, and without white in males; lighter and washed greenish, with vestigial greenish supercilium in females. |
The nominate blue-headed wagtail and yellow wagtail form a narrow hybrid zone in northern France. Birds from this zone vary in appearance, but one type, which resembles nominate blue-headed wagtail (except that the blue tones to the head are paler and more mauve and the white of the head is more extensive, particularly on the throat, ear-coverts, and supercilium) is colloquially referred to as Channel wagtail. A hybrid zone between M. f. flava and M. f. feldegg in Romania and nearby, sometimes distinguished as separate subspecies "M. f. dombrowskii" or "M. f. superciliaris", is also variable, but often like M. f. feldegg except with a white supercilium, rather than a solid black head.[6][7]
In culture
In the Pyramid Texts of Old Kingdom Egypt, the yellow wagtail was considered a representation of Atum himself and might have been the first inspiration for the Bennu bird, which, in turn, is the supposed inspiration for the phoenix of Greek mythology.[8]
References
BirdLife International (2019). "Motacilla flava". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2019: e.T103822349A155602678. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T103822349A155602678.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
Wiles et al. 2000, p. 279.
Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London, United Kingdom: Christopher Helm. pp. 160, 261. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.
Voelker 2002.
Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (2024). "Waxbills, parrotfinches, munias, whydahs, Olive Warbler, accentors, pipits". IOC World Bird List Version 14.1. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 15 August 2024.
Svensson, L. (1992). Identification Guide to European Passerines. British Trust for Ornithology, Thetford. ISBN 91-630-1118-2.
Svensson, L., Mullarney, K., & Zetterström, D. (2009) Collins Bird Guide, ed. 2. ISBN 0-00-219728-6
Salvador, Rodrigo B. (2015). "Egyptian mythology in the Shin Megami Tensei: Persona games". Journal of Greek Studies. 2 (2): 8–32.
Sources
Voelker, Gary (2002). "Systematics and historical biogeography of wagtails: Dispersal versus vicariance revisited". Condor. 104 (4): 725–739. doi:10.1650/0010-5422(2002)104[0725:SAHBOW]2.0.CO;2. S2CID 85844839.
Wiles, Gary J.; et al. (2000). "Noteworthy Bird Records for Micronesia, with a Summary of Raptor Sightings in the Mariana Islands, 1988-1999". Micronesica. 32 (2): 257–284.
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