White-browed Wagtail
Encyclopedia
The White-browed Wagtail or Large Pied Wagtail (Motacilla maderaspatensis) is a medium-sized bird
and is the largest member of the wagtail
family. They are conspicuously patterned with black above and white below, a prominent white brow, shoulder stripe and outer tail feathers. They are common in small water bodies and have adapted to urban environments where they often nest on roof tops. The specific name is derived from the Indian city of Madras (now Chennai
).
The White-browed Wagtail is the largest species of wagtail at 21 cm length. It is a slender bird, with the characteristic long, constantly wagging tail of its genus. It has black upperparts, head and breast, with a white supercilium and large white wingbar. Unlike White Wagtail
s it never has white on the forehead. The rest of the underparts are white. The female has the black less intense than in the male. Juveniles are like the females brown-grey where the adult is black.
_carrying_feed_for_the_chicks_w_img_2622.jpg)
The White-browed Wagtail is a resident breeder in India
and is endemic to the Indian subcontinent. It is found south of the Himalayas, east of the Indus system and to the west of Bangladesh. It is rare in the higher altitude regions but has been seen in Ladakh
on the edge of the Tibetan plateau. In most of India it is found below 1000 m but in southern India it goes up into the hills up to 2200 m. It is very rare in the Indus valley area. It is absent from the Sind region of Pakistan. It is found in open freshwater wetland habitats. It is one of the few Motacilla wagtails that has adapted well to urban habitats and is often found perched on overhead water storages in residential buildings.
It is a rare winter visitor to Sri Lanka and possibly are recent range extension.
, calling it Motacilla lugubris maderaspatensis. This was however criticized by C B Ticehurst
, who noted that it was much larger, never had the white forehead of the White Wagtail, was non-migratory and lacked a spring moult. This species
is now considered to form a superspecies
with Japanese Wagtail
, Mekong Wagtail
and the more distant African Pied Wagtail
. Similarities in pre-copulatory behaviour with the Japanese Wagtail have been noted. Its song much resembles that of the recently-described Mekong Wagtail
. mtDNA cytochrome b
and NADH dehydrogenase
subunit
2 sequence
data has not been able to robustly resolve the relationships of these birds, especially in respect to the Blue-headed Wagtail
and its relatives.
The species is considered monotypic and subspecies such as kangrae described by Walter Koelz
are not recognized.
Endoparasitic filarial parasites of the species Splendidofilaria singhi have been recorded in individuals of the species.
_chicks_at_nest_w_img_2630.jpg)
The breeding season is March to October. In southern India, the nesting season begins when river levels drop and continue until the Monsoon rains. In courtship, the male shoots into the air with a single wing beat, sings and glides with dangling legs and puffed feathers. On settling, the tail of the male is raised high and wings held up over the back and the tip is quivered stiffly while he steps around the female. The female responds by crouching and shivering the wings as if begging for food.
It builds its cup-shaped nest placed on the ground or rocks in a hole, ledge or mud bank and is always located close to water. Artificial structures such as bridges and roof tops are also used. Nests have been noticed in a regularly used ferry. The nest is made of grass, roots, algae and other material with a central neat cup lined with hair. Normally four, and three to five eggs is the usual clutch.
ns, caterpillar
s and spider
s. Stayphylinid beetles and pentatomid
bugs have also been recorded in their diet. In captivity they have been recorded feeding on annelids. They have adapted to urban environments where water may be found mainly on rooftops as overflow from storage tanks.
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
and is the largest member of the wagtail
Wagtail
The wagtails form the passerine bird genus Motacilla. They are small birds with long tails which they wag frequently. Motacilla, the root of the family and genus name, means moving tail...
family. They are conspicuously patterned with black above and white below, a prominent white brow, shoulder stripe and outer tail feathers. They are common in small water bodies and have adapted to urban environments where they often nest on roof tops. The specific name is derived from the Indian city of Madras (now Chennai
Chennai
Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...
).
Description
White Wagtail
"Pied Wagtail" redirects here. For the related African bird, see African Pied Wagtail.The White Wagtail is a small passerine bird in the wagtail family Motacillidae, which also includes the pipits and longclaws. This species breeds in much of Europe and Asia and parts of north Africa...
s it never has white on the forehead. The rest of the underparts are white. The female has the black less intense than in the male. Juveniles are like the females brown-grey where the adult is black.
Distribution and habitat
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and is endemic to the Indian subcontinent. It is found south of the Himalayas, east of the Indus system and to the west of Bangladesh. It is rare in the higher altitude regions but has been seen in Ladakh
Ladakh
Ladakh is a region of Jammu and Kashmir, the northernmost state of the Republic of India. It lies between the Kunlun mountain range in the north and the main Great Himalayas to the south, inhabited by people of Indo-Aryan and Tibetan descent...
on the edge of the Tibetan plateau. In most of India it is found below 1000 m but in southern India it goes up into the hills up to 2200 m. It is very rare in the Indus valley area. It is absent from the Sind region of Pakistan. It is found in open freshwater wetland habitats. It is one of the few Motacilla wagtails that has adapted well to urban habitats and is often found perched on overhead water storages in residential buildings.
It is a rare winter visitor to Sri Lanka and possibly are recent range extension.
Taxonomy and systematics
Stuart Baker in his second edition of The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma considered this as a subspecies of the White WagtailWhite Wagtail
"Pied Wagtail" redirects here. For the related African bird, see African Pied Wagtail.The White Wagtail is a small passerine bird in the wagtail family Motacillidae, which also includes the pipits and longclaws. This species breeds in much of Europe and Asia and parts of north Africa...
, calling it Motacilla lugubris maderaspatensis. This was however criticized by C B Ticehurst
Claud Buchanan Ticehurst
Claud Buchanan Ticehurst was a British ornithologist.Born at St Leonards-on-Sea, Sussex, Ticehurst was educated first at Tonbridge School and subsequently attended St John's College, Cambridge...
, who noted that it was much larger, never had the white forehead of the White Wagtail, was non-migratory and lacked a spring moult. This species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
is now considered to form a superspecies
Superspecies
A superspecies is a group of at least two more or less distinctive species with approximately parapatric distributions. Not all species complexes, whether cryptices or ring species are superspecies, and vice versa, but many are...
with Japanese Wagtail
Japanese Wagtail
The Japanese Wagtail, Motacilla grandis, is a species of bird in the pipit and wagtail family Motacillidae. It breeds in Japan and Korea. Vagrant birds have been recorded in Taiwan, eastern China and far-eastern Russia. In Japan, it is generally common from Kyushu northward, but uncommon in...
, Mekong Wagtail
Mekong Wagtail
The Mekong Wagtail is a species of bird in the Motacillidae family.It is found in Cambodia, Laos, and Thailand.Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist shrubland and rivers....
and the more distant African Pied Wagtail
African Pied Wagtail
The African Pied Wagtail is a species of bird in the Motacillidae family.-Habitat and distribution:It is found in Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Egypt, Equatorial...
. Similarities in pre-copulatory behaviour with the Japanese Wagtail have been noted. Its song much resembles that of the recently-described Mekong Wagtail
Mekong Wagtail
The Mekong Wagtail is a species of bird in the Motacillidae family.It is found in Cambodia, Laos, and Thailand.Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist shrubland and rivers....
. mtDNA cytochrome b
Cytochrome b
Cytochrome b/b6 is the main subunit of transmembrane cytochrome bc1 and b6f complexes. In addition, it commonly refers to a region of mtDNA used for population genetics and phylogenetics.- Function :...
and NADH dehydrogenase
NADH dehydrogenase
NADH dehydrogenase is an enzyme located in the inner mitochondrial membrane that catalyzes the transfer of electrons from NADH to coenzyme Q...
subunit
Protein subunit
In structural biology, a protein subunit or subunit protein is a single protein molecule that assembles with other protein molecules to form a protein complex: a multimeric or oligomeric protein. Many naturally occurring proteins and enzymes are multimeric...
2 sequence
DNA sequence
The sequence or primary structure of a nucleic acid is the composition of atoms that make up the nucleic acid and the chemical bonds that bond those atoms. Because nucleic acids, such as DNA and RNA, are unbranched polymers, this specification is equivalent to specifying the sequence of...
data has not been able to robustly resolve the relationships of these birds, especially in respect to the Blue-headed Wagtail
Blue-headed Wagtail
The Yellow Wagtail, Motacilla flava, is a small passerine in the wagtail family Motacillidae, which also includes the pipits and longclaws.This species breeds in much of temperate Europe and Asia and has a foothold in North America in Alaska...
and its relatives.
The species is considered monotypic and subspecies such as kangrae described by Walter Koelz
Walter Norman Koelz
Walter Norman Koelz was an American zoologist and museum collector.Walter Koelz's parents were immigrants from the Black Forest region of Germany, and his father was a village blacksmith in Waterloo. Walter Koelz studied zoology and received the degree of Doctor of Philosophy from the University...
are not recognized.
Behaviour and ecology
Usually seen in pairs or small groups near open water. They call often especially in the mornings and are active like most other wagtails. They will perch on the ground as well as on wires or on buildings. The song is long and loud with many different notes. The usual call is a wheezy "wheech". They can fly fairly rapidly for long distances and they fly with a bounding (dipping and rising) flight pattern and have been recorded to travel at the speed of about 40 km/h.Endoparasitic filarial parasites of the species Splendidofilaria singhi have been recorded in individuals of the species.
Breeding
It builds its cup-shaped nest placed on the ground or rocks in a hole, ledge or mud bank and is always located close to water. Artificial structures such as bridges and roof tops are also used. Nests have been noticed in a regularly used ferry. The nest is made of grass, roots, algae and other material with a central neat cup lined with hair. Normally four, and three to five eggs is the usual clutch.
Food
Like other wagtails, this species is insectivorous. Nestlings were mainly fed orthopteraOrthoptera
Orthoptera is an order of insects with paurometabolous or incomplete metamorphosis, including the grasshoppers, crickets and locusts.Many insects in this order produce sound by rubbing their wings against each other or their legs, the wings or legs containing rows of corrugated bumps...
ns, caterpillar
Caterpillar
Caterpillars are the larval form of members of the order Lepidoptera . They are mostly herbivorous in food habit, although some species are insectivorous. Caterpillars are voracious feeders and many of them are considered to be pests in agriculture...
s and spider
Spider
Spiders are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, and chelicerae with fangs that inject venom. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species diversity among all other groups of organisms...
s. Stayphylinid beetles and pentatomid
Pentatomidae
Pentatomidae, Greek pente meaning five and tomos meaning section, is a family of insects belonging to order hemiptera that includes some of the stink bugs and shield bugs. Their antennae are 5-segmented, which gives the family its scientific name. Their bodies are usually shield-shaped...
bugs have also been recorded in their diet. In captivity they have been recorded feeding on annelids. They have adapted to urban environments where water may be found mainly on rooftops as overflow from storage tanks.
In culture
In older times in India, the species was sometimes kept as a cage-bird and was acclaimed for its singing ability. The native name of Khanjan is used in the phrase "Khanjan-eyed" to describe someone with beautiful eyes. Another local name for wagtails in India is dhobin (or washerwoman).Other sources
- Hussain, T.,Ghafoor, A.,Qureshi, J.I. (1989) Food habits of large pied wagtail (Motacilla maderaspatensis) . Pakistan Journal of Agricultural Sciences 26(4):426-431
- Patel,ST; Pilo,B; Shah,RV (1977) Oxidative metabolism in the liver and kidney of migratory Starling (Sturnus roseus) and Wagtail (Motacilla alba). Pavo 14(1&2):41-49.
- Chanda,S (1998): Courtship display of Large Pied Wagtail Motacilla maderaspatensis in Kokrajhar, Assam. Newsletter for BirdwatchersNewsletter for BirdwatchersNewsletter for Birdwatchers is an Indian periodical of ornithology and birdwatching founded in 1960 by Zafar Futehally, who edited it until 2003. It was initially mimeographed and distributed to a small number of subscribers each month. The editorial board in its early years included Salim Ali,...
. 38(5):88.