Motacilla citreola
Silhouette: Martin Bulla, based on Ren Hathway's illustration · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~60%
The citrine wagtail (Motacilla citreola) is a small songbird in the family Motacillidae. The term citrine, and the specific name citreola, refer to its yellowish colouration. Its systematics, phylogeny and taxonomy are subject of considerable debate in the early 21st century. This is because this bird forms a cryptic species complex with the eastern (M. tschutschensis ) and western yellow wagtail (M. flava). Which of the many taxa in this group should properly refer to which population is unlikely to be resolved in the immediate future.
Motacilla is the Latin name for the pied wagtail; although actually a diminutive of motare, " to move about", from medieval times it led to the misunderstanding of cilla as "tail". The specific citreola is Latin for "lemon yellow".
It is a slender, 15.5–17 cm long bird, with the long, constantly wagging tail characteristic of the genus Motacilla. The adult male in breeding plumage is basically grey or black above, with white on the remiges, and bright yellow below and on the entire head except for the black nape. In winter plumage, its yellow underparts may be diluted by white, and the head is brownish... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kaziranga National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 2 | Keoladeo National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 3 | Gobi Gurvansaikhan National Park | 🇲🇳 Mongolia | |
| 4 | Biebrza National Park | 🇵🇱 Poland | |
| 5 | Manas National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 6 | Hemis National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 7 | Chitwan National Park | 🇳🇵 Nepal | |
| 8 | Ranthambore National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 9 | Białowieża National Park | 🇵🇱 Poland | |
| 10 | Royal Bardia National Park | 🇳🇵 Nepal | |
| 11 | Satpura National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 12 | Sundarbans National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 13 | Udawalawe National Park | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 14 | Jim Corbett National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 15 | Namdapha National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 16 | Bandhavgarh National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 17 | Kanha National Park | 🇮🇳 India |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kunming | 🇨🇳 China | |
| 2 | Chattogram | 🇧🇩 Bangladesh | |
| 3 | Karachi | 🇵🇰 Pakistan | |
| 4 | Savar | 🇧🇩 Bangladesh | |
| 5 | Kolkata | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 6 | Srinagar | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 7 | Novosibirsk | 🇷🇺 Russia | |
| 8 | Vijayawada | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 9 | Kota | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 10 | Asansol | 🇮🇳 India |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Citrine Wagtail sighting in Kolkata on a given day, based on 1,118 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 56th most-seen of the 247 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 60%, if each day is a fresh chance.
December and January
In those months about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Citrine Wagtail in Kolkata on a given day, against under 5% in May to October, the lowest months. Those are among Kolkata's driest months, with about 10 mm of rain a month against 330 mm in July.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Citrine Wagtail sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
5th of 56
Of the 56 cities where we can rate Citrine Wagtail sightings, Kolkata ranks 5th at about 10%. The best odds are in Kunming (China, about 20%), Chattogram (Bangladesh, about 20%) and Karachi (Pakistan, about 20%).
Same genus: Motacilla
The closest relatives of the Citrine Wagtail that you can see in Kolkata (genus Motacilla, Wagtails) are White Wagtail (about 10%) and Eastern Yellow Wagtail (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Citrine Wagtail is recorded against all the birds logged in Kolkata (1,118 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
