Motacillidae

Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 35. Chapters: Anthus, Macronyx, Motacilla, White Wagtail, Yellow Wagtail, Pipit, White-browed Wagtail, Buff-bellied Pipit, Grey Wagtail, Sprague's Pipit, Paddyfield Pipit, Forest Wagtail, Meadow Pipit, Rock Pipit, Richard's Pipit, Tree Pipit, Citrine Wagtail, Water Pipit, Olive-backed Pipit, Sharpe's Longclaw, Australasian Pipit, Jackson's Pipit, Tawny Pipit, Long-billed Pipit, African Pipit, Nilgiri Pipit, Red-throated Pipit, Pechora Pipit, Cape Wagtail, Blyth's Pipit, Wood Pipit, Cape Longclaw, Berthelot's Pipit, Japanese Wagtail, African Pied Wagtail, Golden Pipit, Mountain Wagtail, Plain Pipit, Yellow-throated Longclaw, Hemimacronyx, Correndera Pipit, Abyssinian Longclaw, Mekong Wagtail, Rosy-throated Longclaw, South Georgia Pipit, Fülleborn's Longclaw, Sokoke Pipit, Yellow-breasted Pipit, Short-tailed Pipit, Bush Pipit, Short-billed Pipit, Malindi Pipit, Striped Pipit, Yellowish Pipit, Rosy Pipit, Mountain Pipit, Long-legged Pipit, Madagascar Wagtail, Buffy Pipit, Grimwood's Longclaw, Hellmayr's Pipit, Yellow-tufted Pipit, Kimberley Pipit, Pangani Longclaw, Paramo Pipit, Chaco Pipit, Alpine Pipit, Upland Pipit, Ochre-breasted Pipit, Long-tailed Pipit. Excerpt: "Pied Wagtail" redirects here. For the related African bird, see African Pied Wagtail. The White Wagtail (Motacilla alba) is a small passerine bird in the wagtail family Motacillidae, which also includes the pipits and longclaws. This species breeds in much of Europe and Asia and parts of north Africa. It is resident in the mildest parts of its range, but otherwise migrates to Africa. It has a toehold in Alaska as a scarce breeder. In some areas, notably Britain and Ireland, the sub-species Pied Wagtail (M. a. yarrellii) predominates. This is an insectivorous bird of open country, often near habitation and water. It prefers bare areas for feeding, where it can see and pursue its prey. In urban areas it has adapted to foraging on paved areas such as car parks. It nests in crevices in stone walls and similar natural and man-made structures. The White Wagtail is the national bird of Latvia. Breeding ranges of the major racesThe White Wagtail was one of the many species originally described by Linnaeus in his 18th century work, Systema Naturae, and it still bears its original name of Motacilla alba. The Latin genus name originally meant "little mover", but certain medieval writers thought it meant "wag-tail", giving rise to a new Latin word cilla for "tail". The specific epithet alba is Latin for "white". Within the wagtail genus Motacilla, the White Wagtail's closest relatives appear to be other black-and-white wagtails such as the Japanese Wagtail, Motacilla grandis, and the White-browed Wagtail, Motacilla madaraspatensis, (and possibly the Mekong Wagtail, Motacilla samveasnae, the phylogenetic position of which is mysterious) with which it appears to form a superspecies. However mtDNA cytochrome b and NADH dehydrogenase subunit 2 sequence data suggests that the White Wagtail is itself polyphyletic or paraphyletic (i.e. the species is not itself a single coherent grouping). Other phylogenetic studies using mtDNA however suggest that there is considerable gene flow wit