White and Pied Wagtails.

[RoyW__]

Not an identification request, but the ID section seem to be as good a place as any for this post.

In late summer 2010 Dutch Birding magazine published a very good article on the separation of White and Pied Wagtails, which I read at the time but didn't have a copy of. I have now managed to find an online copy of the article in PDF format and thought that it might be of interest to some (quiet in depth, but it might be useful in the spring when White Wagtails start to move through the UK - most of Europe obviously has the opposite problem, picking the Pieds out from the Whites!).
Of interest, following some comments in a recent thread, are brief details of some of the records of Pieds outside of their normal range - this includes a single previous record from Cyprus (I have also found out that there has apparently been at least one record of a vagrant Pied Wagtail in Israel, though this does not seem to be mentioned in the Dutch Birding article).

White Wagtail and Pied Wagtail: a new look

[Winterkoning]

From our perspective [Dutchside ]
Listed as Follows:

[1].... Motacilla cinerea....Grote Geelkwikstaart......Grey Wagtail

[2]...Motacilla Flava.........Gelekwikstaart...............Yellow Wagtail

[3]...Motacilla Citreola......Citroenkwikstraat..........Citrine Wagtail

[4]...Moiacilla alba...........Wittekwikstaart.............White Wagtail...[Pied ]

Hope this helps to support Roys Point

[Greenmillie64]

that was interesting but can I be a total dummy and ask for the obvious differences... and has location got a lot to do with it? I was told when at Saltholme (I think) that the wagtails were white wagtails but they looked like pied to me and I would never have thought for a moment thatthey could be more exotic than the standard pied. It's very tricky this bird spotting interest/hobby/mania.

[RoyW__]

Originally Posted by Winterkoning

From our perspective [Dutchside ]
Listed as Follows:

[2]...Motacilla Flava.........Gelekwikstaart...............Yellow Wagtail

[4]...Motacilla alba...........Wittekwikstaart.............White Wagtail...[Pied ]

The official Dutch position is to treat Blue-headed & Yellow Wagtails, and White & Pied Wagtails as separate species. From a Dutch point of view the scientific and Dutch names given here apply to Blue-headed and White Wagtails, but NOT Yellow and Pied.

The fact that they treat Pied as a separate species from White means that they are more interested in accurately differentiating between the two.

[RoyW__]

Originally Posted by Greenmillie64

that was interesting but can I be a total dummy and ask for the obvious differences... and has location got a lot to do with it? I was told when at Saltholme (I think) that the wagtails were white wagtails but they looked like pied to me and I would never have thought for a moment thatthey could be more exotic than the standard pied. It's very tricky this bird spotting interest/hobby/mania.

White Wagtails are the form found on the continent, and breeding in Iceland. Pied Wagtails are the form that breeds in the British Isles.
White Wagtails are a regular passage migrant thtough the UK in spring and autumn (late Mar-May, and Aug-Oct), mainly seen on the south and east coasts, and in the northern isles, but they can be seen anywhere.

To be honest there is no 'simple, idiot proof' way to identify White Wagtails, because female and immature Pied can be very close to White. They are easier in spring when any "Pied" with a pale grey back and 'clean' flanks is worth a close look because it may well be a White - the feature that confirms it is the rump colour - the same pale grey as the back in White; black in Pied (the uppertail covert are black in both).