Pied Wagtail
Motacilla alba
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Distribution Britain 2,669 (+0.3%) Ireland 966 (-1.6%)
Numbers breeding: Britain 300,000 Ireland 130,000 European status: 9,00,0000 (5% in Britain and Ireland = 5=) British population trend: stable (+ 5% CBC){+39%} How likely are you to record it? 2020 squares (45.0%) Ranked 29 [23=] |
The Pied Wagtail is the British and Irish race (yarelli) of the widespread species correctly known as the White Wagtail (alba) — this race does sometimes nest as pairs or hybrids usually on the South or East coast of England or in the north of Scotland. The species was well distributed 100 years ago. In Ireland only a small part of the very far west was without them — and this and the far islands were occupied by 1954. In Scotland the birds gradually made good their lost ground and started to breed regularly on the Western Isles (1930s) and Orkney (1970s) and sparsely on Shetland (1970s). There is some evidence that the birds are not as common as they used to be in the areas where the farming has become wholly arable. Population levels from the WBS declined by 39% but the BBS showed a significant increase of 13% in five years (1994-98). The birds are vulnerable to cold winter weather but come back quickly if the subsequent years are mild. Populations in the lowlands of England may be threatened but, overall, the species seems to be in good heart.
From
The
State of the Nations Birds
Copyright © 2000 by Chris Mead