Birdwatching - 3102 🐦

🦉 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 is easy to recognize by its long tail, which it constantly sways up and down. Its coloring is contrasting black and white with gray. Wagtails arrive very early, often when there is still snow already in late March or early April, depending on the weather. They settle near rivers, ponds, and are often found in city courtyards.

They hunt insects by running along the ground and catching them with sharp movements. It is interesting that they can pursue their prey with short flights, as if jumping into the air. They build nests in shelters under the roofs of houses, in pipes, attics.