Watch out for waggers in and around Worcester

We have two resident species, the pied and grey, and a third, a migratory species, the yellow wagtail. There is, therefore, the opportunity to see all three from April.

The wagtails are long tailed, active, ground feeding, insect eaters, with the endearing habit of frequently flicking their tails up and down, hence the name wagtail.

The reasons behind this tail pumping are unknown but could be linked to flushing insects or for social signalling.

All three have an undulating, bouncy flight pattern and very similar flight calls, variously described as ‘twissi-vit’, ‘tswick’ and ‘psweep’, respectively.

The pied wagtail is the commonest by far, and you don’t have to travel far to see one. They can be easily found in the centre of Worcester, running round your feet during the day or roosting in large numbers in the trees along the High Street during the winter.

They are also common in parks and on farmland. They nest in holes in banks or on ledges in buildings, they may even take over old blackbird nests.

The male is a striking black and white, with the female a muted grey and white.

COLOUR CONFUSION: The grey wagtail is sometimes confused with the yellow wagtail due to the vibrantly coloured upperparts

The next commonest, but in much smaller numbers than the pied, is the grey wagtail, a bird of fast flowing rivers or streams; but can be found in towns and cities during the winter. It has grey upperparts, which obviously give it its name, but I do know people who have confused it with the yellow wagtail due the vibrant yellow on its underparts and yellow rump. The male also sports a large black bib in summer.

Being tied to water, the nest is built in a hole or crevice in a bank or wall, under a bridge or amongst tree roots. The yellow wagtail prefers damp marshes, meadows, and farmland habitat to breed in and will happily forage for insects under the feet of cattle. It is basically olive green above and yellow below, with the male having a bright yellow head, whilst the female’s is greener.

GROUND NESTER: The yellow wagtail’s cup-shaped nest is built amongst vegetation

It is a ground nester; the cup-shaped nest being built amongst vegetation.

Unusually for birds in the UK, our pied and yellow wagtails are sub-species of nominate Continental races.

The pied (Motacilla alba yarrellii) is our version of the white wagtail (Motacilla alba alba), a smart bird with the black head contrasting with a very light grey back.

Our yellow (Motacilla flava flavissima), is one of at least eight sub-species found in Europe, that differ from each other by the colour of the male’s head.

The nominate blue-headed wagtail (M. f. flava) is just over the Channel in France, is an annual vagrant to the UK and will hybridise with the yellow to produce what is informally known as the ‘Channel wagtail’.

There are also the ‘ashy-headed’, ‘black-headed’ and ‘grey-headed’ spread across Europe and which have made rare appearances in the UK.