Yellow Wagtail Motacilla flava - some photos and notes

Yellow Wagtail Motacilla flava

Yellow Wagtail, Pivot Fields, Dubai, November 2010 - click for larger image

Pivot Fields, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
November 2010

The Yellow Wagtail breeds across most of Europe, northern and central Asia and into the extreme north-west of North America. It migrates south in the winter to sub-Saharan Africa, India, south-east Asia and north-west Australia. It is usually associated with damp habitats such as marshes, wet meadows, bogs, etc..

There are about 17 recognised sub-species as well as some hybrids between sub-species.

Photo 1 shows a female probably either M. f. lutea or M. f. thunbergi. Photos 2 to 4 show what is probably a hybrid between M. f. lutea and M. f. feldegg. A similar bird can be seen on the UAE Birding site.

I have photos of more sub-species on my European page and more information is available via Avibase.

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