29-9-2016 MALDON, ESSEX - PIED WAGTAIL (Motacilla alba ssp. yarrellii)

The Pied Wagtail is a delightful small, long-tailed and rather sprightly black and white bird. When it's not standing and frantically wagging its tail up and down, it can be seen dashing about over lawns or car parks in search of food. It often calls during its bouncing flight and can be seen gathering at dusk to form large roosts in city centres.

A common and familiar bird, the pied wagtail is often seen in towns and cities, dashing across lawns, roads and car parks while wagging its long tail up and down. Pied wagtails eat insects, but will feed on seeds and even rubbish in winter. They flock together at warm roost sites like reedbeds and sewage works or trees and bushes in city centres. In summer, they defend breeding territories and will nest in ivy, under roofs, in walls, between stones ... in all kinds of places!

The pied wagtail is a familiar black-and-white bird, with a white face, white belly and white bars on the wings. The other two breeding species of wagtail in the UK both have yellow underparts.

Although they usually live life in the fast lane, the maximum recorded age for a pied wagtail is 11 years and 3 months.

They can be found across the UK, abandoning some of the highland and northern areas of Scotland in winter. They are commonly found near water, and can be found in most habitats, even town centers. Body warmth from congregating themselves on rooftops keeps the pied wagtails alive during the cold winter nights. They are practically, but not quite fully, an exclusively British bird. Pied wagtails don’t nest in the Channel Islands, but recently white wagtails started gaining popularity there. The pied/white wagtails are the most widespread breeding birds in Europe, breeding almost everywhere from Iceland and arctic Norway south to Andalucía and Sicily.

The pied wagtail is a familiar black-and-white bird, with a white face, white belly and white bars on the wings. The other two breeding species of wagtail in the UK both have yellow underparts.

Although they usually live life in the fast lane, the maximum recorded age for a pied wagtail is 11 years and 3 months.

They can be found across the UK, abandoning some of the highland and northern areas of Scotland in winter. They are commonly found near water, and can be found in most habitats, even town centers. Body warmth from congregating themselves on rooftops keeps the pied wagtails alive during the cold winter nights. They are practically, but not quite fully, an exclusively British bird. Pied wagtails don’t nest in the Channel Islands, but recently white wagtails started gaining popularity there. The pied/white wagtails are the most widespread breeding birds in Europe, breeding almost everywhere from Iceland and arctic Norway south to Andalucía and Sicily.

They typically stay in the UK. Those that live in the northern parts of the UK often migrate south of the UK in the winter, but they can go as far as North of Africa to avoid the cold months. They usually flock together. They need each other’s help more than ever, during the migration season.