HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The white-browed wagtail or large pied wagtail (''Motacilla maderaspatensis'') is a medium-sized
bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...
and is the largest member of the
wagtail Wagtails are a group of passerine birds that form the genus ''Motacilla'' in the family Motacillidae. The forest wagtail belongs to the monotypic genus ''Dendronanthus'' which is closely related to ''Motacilla'' and sometimes included therein. T ...
family. They are conspicuously patterned with black above and white below, a prominent white brow, shoulder stripe and outer tail feathers. White-browed wagtails are native to
South Asia South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.;;;;;;;; ...
, common near small water bodies and have adapted to urban environments where they often nest on roof tops. The specific name is derived from the Indian city of
Madras Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...
(now
Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...
).


Description

The white-browed wagtail is the largest species of wagtail at length. It is a slender bird, with the characteristic long, constantly wagging tail of its genus. It has black upperparts, head and breast, with a white supercilium and large white wingbar. Unlike
white wagtail The white wagtail (''Motacilla alba'') is a small passerine bird in the family Motacillidae, which also includes pipits and longclaws. The species breeds in much of Europe and the Asian Palearctic and parts of North Africa. It has a toehold in ...
s it never has white on the forehead. The rest of the underparts are white. The female has the black less intense than in the male. Juveniles are like the females brown-grey where the adult is black.


Distribution and habitat

The white-browed wagtail is a resident breeder in
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
and is
endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...
to the Indian subcontinent. It is found south of the Himalayas, east of the Indus system and to the west of Bangladesh. It is rare in the higher altitude regions but has been seen in
Ladakh Ladakh () is a region administered by India as a union territory which constitutes a part of the larger Kashmir region and has been the subject of dispute between India, Pakistan, and China since 1947. (subscription required) Quote: "Jammu and ...
on the edge of the Tibetan plateau. In most of India it is found below 1000 m but in southern India it goes up into the hills up to 2200 m. It is very rare in the Indus valley area. It is absent from the Sind region of Pakistan. It is found in open freshwater wetland habitats. It is one of the few ''Motacilla'' wagtails that has adapted well to urban habitats and is often found perched on overhead water storages in residential buildings. It is a rare winter visitor to Sri Lanka and have possibly extended their range in recent times.


Taxonomy and systematics

Stuart Baker in his second edition of ''The Fauna of British India'' considered this as a subspecies of the
white wagtail The white wagtail (''Motacilla alba'') is a small passerine bird in the family Motacillidae, which also includes pipits and longclaws. The species breeds in much of Europe and the Asian Palearctic and parts of North Africa. It has a toehold in ...
, calling it ''Motacilla lugubris maderaspatensis''. This was however criticized by C B Ticehurst, who noted that it was much larger, never had the white forehead of the white wagtail, was non-migratory and lacked a spring moult. This
species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
is now considered to form a superspecies with
Japanese wagtail The Japanese wagtail (''Motacilla grandis'') is a species of bird in the pipit and wagtail family Motacillidae. It is native to Japan and Korea. Description The Japanese wagtail is about 20 cm long. The sexes look similar; they have white u ...
,
Mekong wagtail The Mekong wagtail (''Motacilla samveasnae'') is a species of bird in the family Motacillidae. It was first described in 2001 and named in honour of the late Cambodian ornithologist Sam Veasna. It is a black and white bird, similar in appearance ...
and the more distant
African pied wagtail The African pied wagtail, or African wagtail, (''Motacilla aguimp'') is a species of bird in the family Motacillidae. Description left, 200px, Juvenile bird A striking black and white wagtail with black upperparts contrasting with white underpa ...
. Similarities in pre-copulatory behaviour with the Japanese wagtail have been noted. Its song much resembles that of the recently described
Mekong wagtail The Mekong wagtail (''Motacilla samveasnae'') is a species of bird in the family Motacillidae. It was first described in 2001 and named in honour of the late Cambodian ornithologist Sam Veasna. It is a black and white bird, similar in appearance ...
.
mtDNA Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA or mDNA) is the DNA located in mitochondria, cellular organelles within eukaryotic cells that convert chemical energy from food into a form that cells can use, such as adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Mitochondrial DNA ...
cytochrome ''b'' and
NADH dehydrogenase NADH dehydrogenase is an enzyme that converts nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) from its reduced form (NADH) to its oxidized form (NAD+). Members of the NADH dehydrogenase family and analogues are commonly systematically named using the for ...
subunit 2
sequence In mathematics, a sequence is an enumerated collection of objects in which repetitions are allowed and order matters. Like a set, it contains members (also called ''elements'', or ''terms''). The number of elements (possibly infinite) is calle ...
data has not been able to robustly resolve the relationships of these birds, especially in respect to the blue-headed wagtail and its relatives. The species is considered monotypic and subspecies such as ''kangrae'' described by
Walter Koelz Walter Norman Koelz (September 11, 1895, Waterloo, Michigan – September 24, 1989) was an American zoologist and museum collector. Walter Koelz's parents were immigrants from the Black Forest region of Germany, and his father was a village black ...
are not recognized.


Behaviour and ecology

Usually seen in pairs or small groups near open water. They call often especially in the mornings and are active like most other wagtails. They will perch on the ground as well as on wires or on buildings. The song is long and loud with many different notes. The usual call is a wheezy "wheech". They can fly fairly rapidly for long distances and they fly with a bounding (dipping and rising) flight pattern and have been recorded to travel at the speed of about 40 km/h. Endoparasitic filarial parasites of the species ''Splendidofilaria singhi'' have been recorded in individuals of the species.


Breeding

The breeding season is March to October. In southern India, the nesting season begins when river levels drop and continue until the Monsoon rains. In courtship, the male shoots into the air with a single wing beat, sings and glides with dangling legs and puffed feathers. On settling, the tail of the male is raised high and wings held up over the back and the tip is quivered stiffly while he steps around the female. The female responds by crouching and shivering the wings as if begging for food. It builds its cup-shaped nest placed on the ground or rocks in a hole, ledge or mud bank and is always located close to water. Artificial structures such as bridges and roof tops are also used. Nests have been noticed in a regularly used ferry. The nest is made of grass, roots, algae and other material with a central neat cup lined with hair. Normally four, and three to five eggs is the usual clutch.


Food

Like other wagtails, this species is insectivorous. Nestlings were mainly fed
orthoptera Orthoptera () is an order of insects that comprises the grasshoppers, locusts, and crickets, including closely related insects, such as the bush crickets or katydids and wētā. The order is subdivided into two suborders: Caelifera – grassho ...
ns,
caterpillar Caterpillars ( ) are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths). As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawflies (suborder Sym ...
s and
spider Spiders ( order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species ...
s. Stayphylinid beetles and pentatomid bugs have also been recorded in their diet. In captivity they have been recorded feeding on annelids. They have adapted to urban environments where water may be found mainly on rooftops as overflow from storage tanks.


In culture

In older times in India, the species was sometimes kept as a cage-bird and was acclaimed for its singing ability. The native name of ''khanjan'' is used in the phrase "khanjan-eyed" to describe someone with beautiful eyes. The Khanjan was held sacred and considered a good omen in India as it supposedly bore an impression of
Vishnu Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism. Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" within t ...
's
shaligram A shaligrama shila ( deva, शालिग्राम शिला, Śāligrāma-śilā), also rendered as shaligram, is a particular variety of stone collected from riverbed or banks of the Kali Gandaki, a tributary of the Gandaki River in N ...
on its breast. A variety of beliefs on the future predicted by where the bird sat and what it did have been documented by Saratchandra Mitra. Another local name for wagtails in India is ''dhobin'' (or washerwoman).


References


Other sources

* Hussain, T., Ghafoor, A., Qureshi, J.I. (1989) Food habits of large pied wagtail (Motacilla maderaspatensis) . Pakistan Journal of Agricultural Sciences 26(4):426–431 * Patel, ST; Pilo, B; Shah, RV (1977) Oxidative metabolism in the liver and kidney of migratory Starling (''Sturnus roseus'') and Wagtail (''Motacilla alba''). Pavo 14(1&2):41–49. * Chanda, S (1998): Courtship display of Large Pied Wagtail ''Motacilla maderaspatensis'' in Kokrajhar, Assam. ''
Newsletter for Birdwatchers ''Newsletter for Birdwatchers'' is an Indian periodical of ornithology and birdwatching founded in 1960 by Zafar Futehally, who edited it until 2003. It was initially mimeographed and distributed to a small number of subscribers each month. It is ...
'' . 38(5):88.


External links


Internet Bird Collection
{{DEFAULTSORT:White-Browed Wagtail Motacilla Birds of Nepal Birds of Pakistan Birds of India Birds described in 1789 Taxa named by Johann Friedrich Gmelin