Island Life Magazine Ltd December/January 2018 | Page 76
Country life
10 things you didn’t know about
Pied Wagtails
• Pied wagtails wag their tails
almost constantly, but no one
is certain why this is. However,
it is thought to be a behaviour
developed for social signalling. • Pied wagtails have a reputation
for choosing unusual
nest sites, including cars,
greenhouses and abandoned
machinery.
• Pied wagtails are insectivores
and opportunists. They feed
on flying insects and those
that live on the ground, but
will search for easy pickings -
insects caught in car radiator
grills, for example. • During the winter months,
adult males have feeding
territories, which they defend
fiercely when food is scarce.
• During the winter, pied
wagtails form large roosts
to keep warm at night. The
largest roosts may hold as
many as 4,000 individuals!
• Pied wagtails can be seen
in a wide variety of habitats,
and are just as comfortable
in urban environments as
they are beside streams and
reedbeds.
• During a particularly cold
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winter, pied wagtails living
in northern upland areas will
leave and fly south, sometimes
as far as North Africa.
• In courtship, two or more
males will chase a female in a
dancing, undulating flight.
• Pied wagtails build their nests
out of twigs, grass, dead leaves
and moss with a lining of hair,
wool and feathers.
• Female pied wagtails build
their nests with no assistance
from males, but both parents
feed their young once they
have hatched.
Photo: Pied Wagtail by Darin Smith