White Wagtail

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White Wagtail in the UK

The White Wagtail is not a separate species. It is the nominate subspecies (Motacilla alba alba) of the same species as the Pied Wagtail, which is the British and Irish race. White Wagtails breed across mainland Europe and in Iceland and the Faroes. In Britain it is a regular passage migrant: birds bound for Iceland pass north from March to May and return from mid August to early November. A handful of pairs breed each year, mostly in Shetland and northern Scotland, sometimes paired with Pied Wagtails. Six pairs bred in Shetland in 2018.

Where and when to see a White Wagtail

Western coasts are best, from Cornwall to the Hebrides, with the largest counts in north-west England. Early to mid April is the peak: 500 were at Hoylake, Wirral, on 9 April 2011. Search beaches, tide wrack, saltmarsh edges, short coastal turf, playing fields, ploughed land, sewage works and reservoir or gravel pit margins. Inland birds are found most at reservoirs in April. East coast birds are fewer. Autumn birds are much harder to pick out, so most records come from spring.

Habitat, diet and field notes

Habitat: Coast, gravel pits (passage).
Diet: Insects.
Field note: Continental form of Pied; cleaner grey back.

How to identify a White Wagtail

Same size and shape as a Pied Wagtail, with the same wagging tail. A spring male has a clean, pale ash-grey back sharply cut off from the black nape, where a male Pied is black from crown to rump. The catch is that female Pied Wagtails are dark grey above. Check two things. The rump of a White is pale grey like the back, while a Pied's is black or blackish. The flanks of a White are clean and pale, while a Pied's are smudged sooty grey. Autumn young birds need a clear view of the rump.

Call and song

The same sharp double "chis-ick" flight call as a Pied Wagtail. The two cannot be told apart by ear, so every White Wagtail has to be identified on plumage. Heard something you cannot place? Bird Hear identifies UK birds from a 10 second recording, free in your browser.

Confusion species

• Pied Wagtail: Pied has a black or blackish rump and dusky grey flanks; White has a pale grey rump matching its back and clean flanks.
• Grey Wagtail: Grey Wagtail has a much longer tail and bright lemon-yellow under the tail at all ages.

Related guide Bird migration in Britain.

Conservation status and Birdedex points

In the Birdedex the White Wagtail is an Uncommon tier bird, worth +3 points when you log one. It is not on the Red or Amber lists in Birds of Conservation Concern 5.

Recent UK sightings

Similar birds

• Citrine WagtailRare · Marshes (rare passage)
• Grey-headed WagtailRare · Marshes (rare passage)
• Western Yellow WagtailUncommon · Wet meadows
• Black-headed WagtailEpic · Marshes (very rare race)
• Eastern Yellow WagtailEpic · Marshes (very rare vagrant)
• Iberian Pied WagtailEpic · Open ground (very rare)

White Wagtail: quick answers

What is the difference between a White Wagtail and a Pied Wagtail?

They are two races of one species. Pied breeds in Britain and Ireland and has a black (male) or dark grey (female) back with a blackish rump and sooty flanks. White breeds in Iceland and mainland Europe and has a pale grey back and rump with clean flanks. Where they meet they interbreed.

When is the best time to see a White Wagtail in the UK?

April. The first arrive in March, sometimes late February, and passage is over by late May. They move through fast, so a flock on a beach or football pitch one morning has often gone the next day.

Does the White Wagtail count as a separate species on a UK list?

No. The British List treats White and Pied as one species, so it does not add to an official life list. Many birders still record it separately because it tells you something about migration, and county recorders want the sightings.

Kit that helps

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