Birdwatching - 3049 🐦

🦉 The white wagtail (Motacilla alba)

• Motacilla lat .: mōto, mōtare move continuously, -cilla tail (cilla like a tail - only in ornithology, erroneous established name)
• alba (lat.) white

This graceful bird with a black and white coat and an incredibly long tail is a true symbol of the coming spring. It appears among the first, when the last snows have just melted, and immediately begins to busily run along the thawed patches, amusingly swinging its tail in time with each step. Why it (and some species of sandpipers) do this is unclear. But one of the most plausible theories is that it maintains its balance.

The white wagtail is a surprisingly urban bird. It easily settles under the roofs of houses, on construction sites, in pipes and poles. At the same time, it is not afraid of people at all - it can run along the sidewalk literally a meter away from passers-by, busy searching for insects. The wagtail hunts masterfully - either pecking bugs from the ground, or catching them on the fly, making short, swift lunges.