Pied wagtails (Motacilla alba) are characterful little black-and-white birds often seen feeding on flat surfaces, including concrete, street slabs and short turf, where their needle-sharp bills pick up small insects.
In this guide we take a closer look at the pied wagtail, including how to identify them, call, habitat and distribution.
How to identify a pied wagtail
Pied wagtails have mainly black-and-white and grey plumage. Males have smart black backs, while females have somewhat uneven grey backs; in winter, they lose most of the black on their breast to leave just a band – but working out all the different plumage is hard work. In contrast to the grey wagtail, they have black legs.
What do pied wagtails eat?
The pied wagtail's diet consists mostly of small insects.
Pied wagtail call
Their call of a pied wagtail, most often heard when they fly, is a loud “schizzick”.
Pied wagtail population
Pied wagtails are very common all year round, with 505,000 pairs in the UK. Their numbers are increasing slightly.
Pied wagtail distribution and habitat
They aren’t fussy where they catch food, and, alongside city streets, the muckiest farmyards are another favourite habitat. Also, look for it on roofs.
Pied wagtail behaviour
One of the first things you might notice about them is that they don’t hop like most small birds, but walk with a bobbing head, and also frequently break into a run. They sometimes fly up and sally to catch a flying insect.
Oh, and, of course, they wag their tails, incessantly. Remarkably, nobody is entirely sure why they do this, but it might be a way of making themselves more conspicuous to other wagtails.
Pied wagtail nests
These characters build a cup nest in a wide variety of locations, often a hole in a wall or bank, and on farms they often build on tractors and other machinery, which can be inconvenient.
Elsewhere in the world, they’ve been known to nest in a walrus skull and the nest of a golden eagle.
In winter especially, these birds form communal roosts, often of hundreds of birds. These are often on garage or factory roofs and, at Christmas time, they sometimes use seasonal trees with fairy lights!
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