Gardensafari Page Of The White Wagtail (Motacilla Alba)

35 secs / 104 kb / MP3

Hopping through a grassfield or on the road nervously wagging its tail, that's the White Wagtail for you..

In the Dutch countryside this is a very common bird. Especially when you're cycling you sometimes see lots of them hopping on the roads. They walk about quickly on the asphalt, wagling their long tail. When you're close, they fly away a hundred meters and again walk busily on the path, until you're close by again. This procedure can repeat itself many times. It's not so common a bird in the garden. On the front garden path of our previous house however, they could be found occasionally, such as in august 1987. On June 1st. 1998 one walked on the roof of our present home.

This bird belongs to the family of Wagtails (Motacillidae). It is rare in our garden and can be seen in Holland april - october. The bird is 7" and weighs 23 grams. It lives in countryside mostly. It eats insects. Compared to the male, the female is slightly paler. It breeds in holes or hollow tree stems. The five or six eggs usually hatch after 13 days. The young grow quickly, for after just over two weeks they leave the nest.