White wagtail

    Motacilla alba

Castilian: Lavandera blanca

Catalan: Cuereta blanca

Gallego: Lavandeira branca

Euskera: Buztanikara zuria

CLASIFICACIÓN:

Orden: Passeriformes

Family: Motacillidae

Migratory status: Permanent resident

CONSERVATION STATUS:

On the National List of Threatened Species, it appears in the “Of Special Interest” category. In the 2004 edition of the Red Book of Spanish Birds (Libro Rojo de las Aves de España) it is listed as “Not Evaluated”.

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THREATS

It is not threatened, although the use of pesticides, disturbances in roosts, and changes in land use can cause problems.

Length / size: 18 cm / 28 cm

Identification: Slender bird whose back is ash grey, its belly white, its wings black with white bands when they are folded in, and its long tail is black with white external feathers. Its legs and bill are black, its face white, surrounded by black. The female's nape is grey. In winter the black on the head is reduced, and the bird's throat is white and its pectoral band black. One of this species' noteworthy habits is the continuous swaying movement of its tail.

Song: Its call is two high-pitched, loud and dry notes, "see-seet", which it usually produces in flight. Its song is a series of notes similar to the ones used in the call, but with warbles resembling those of a barn swallow.

Diet: It feeds on aquatic and land insects, especially larvae and adult flies and mosquitoes, which it finds by pecking on the ground and in shallow waters.

Reproduction: The breeding period begins in April. This species is monogamous and territorial. Both sexes build the nest in the shape of a bowl using branches and dry grass, and place it in a hollow rock, bridges, walls or river banks. Both parents incubate the eggs and feed the chicks.

HABITAT

During breeding season it occupies different types of environments that are connected to humans and close to water, such as rivers, streams, ponds, orchards, pastureland and parks. In winter it also moves to similar environments, although it prefers farms and pastureland. It usually breeds between sea level and an altitude of 1,600 metres in Gredos, although it is rare above 1,000 metres.

DISTRIBUTION

In Spain: It breeds in the entire peninsula, although it is most abundant in the north. In winter it is more widespread, occupying the Balearic and Canary Islands.

In Castile and León: It is distributed throughout the entire community.

Movements and migrations: The Spanish specimens make migratory and altitudinal movements of short and medium distances. Specimens from northern, central and eastern Europe spend winter in our latitudes and also in Africa. The autumn passage takes place between October and November, and the spring one between February and April. The wintering period is also important, especially in the warmest areas in the south and east.

POPULATION

In Spain: There is an estimated population of 350000 breeding pairs.

In Castile and León: