WAGTAIL Motacillidae
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he form, behaviour and habitat of natty, lively little wagtails has given rise to a wealth of local folkloric beliefs and sayings. Wherever members of this small family of birds are found – throughout Eurasia and Africa in town and country, field, riverside, beach and lake shore – they run and strut around, constantly bobbing their very long tails. Some species are black and white, others more colourful with bright yellows, greens and blue-greys, and all have sparky personalities and bright, cheerful voices.
Sneaky devils In Ireland, Pied Wagtails are mistrusted because of the unnaturally constant movement of their tails and are considered to be minions of the devil, with their tail action caused by carrying drops of the devil’s blood on their tail tip. It was believed that the only way to catch one was to sprinkle salt on its tail. This sinister aspect did mean the bird was somewhat respected, and only the very foolhardy would risk
Doing the dishes The Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba yarrellii), below, is the British subspecies of the widespread White Wagtail (M. alba), and is a very familiar bird that occurs almost everywhere in Britain, all year round. It rejoices in a great many local names, several of which have a dishwashing theme – for example, ‘Molly washdish’, ‘Peggy dishwasher’ and ‘dishlick’. These come from the bird’s fondness for waterside habitats, where it walks along at the water’s edge or bounces from rock to rock in the shallows, ready to pounce on newly emerged insects, and bobbing and dipping constantly like someone washing their dishes in the water. Today, many birdwatchers (especially those who like to observe visible migration or ‘vis mig’) call the Pied Wagtail the ‘Chiswick flyover’, because of the loud ‘chissick’ call it gives when on the move.
damaging its nest or stealing its eggs. A more light-hearted view of the bird is found in an Irish children’s rhyme, which includes the line ‘your pretty tail is like a goblin’s clock’ and then ‘your pretty tail is like a goblin’s wand’.
The Romany people know the Pied Wagtail as the ‘Gypsy bird’ and have the saying ‘Behold a wagtail and you shall see the gypsies’. Pied Wagtails have a strong association with people and like to nest in farm buildings. They can often be found in car parks, checking the ground and car grilles for squashed insects. They also form communal winter roosts in town centres, clustering together in small ornamental trees that are kept warm under artificial lighting, and looking for all the world like fluffy Christmas decorations. The tale of the tail The scientific name of the wagtail genus, Motacilla, references the bird’s constant activity – it translates as ‘little mover’. However, some ornithologists made the error (understandably) of thinking that the name meant ‘moving tail’, and so you will find the suffix ‘cilla’, which is just a way of making a diminutive form, incorrectly used to mean ‘tail’ in a whole raft of other avian scientific names. For example, the White-tailed Eagle’s specific name is albicilla, intended to mean ‘white tail’ but actually meaning ‘little white’. Worldly wise wagtails The Japanese Wagtail (M. grandis) is as familiar a bird in Japan as the Pied Wagtail is in Britain, and it plays a key role in the classic Japanese creation story.
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Birds and us
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