Motacilla flava
Silhouette: Martin Bulla, based on Ren Hathway's illustration · PhyloPic
In 3 days >90%
The western yellow wagtail (Motacilla flava) is a small passerine bird in the wagtail family Motacillidae, which also includes the pipits and longclaws. This species breeds in much of temperate Europe and Asia. Most populations are migratory, moving south to tropical Africa and southern Asia for the winter; the small population breeding in Egypt is however resident there.
It is a slender 15–16 cm long bird, with the characteristic long, constantly wagging tail of its genus. It is the shortest tailed of the European wagtails. The breeding adult male is basically olive above and yellow below. In other plumages, particularly in juveniles, the yellow may be diluted to whitish. The heads of breeding males come in a variety of colours and patterns depending on subspecies. The call is a high-pitched jeet. This insectivorous bird inhabits open country near water, such as wet meadows. It nests in tussocks, laying 4–8 speckled eggs.
The western yellow wagtail was formally described in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae under its current binomial name Motacilla flava. In 1555 the Swiss naturalist Conrad Gessner had used the identical...
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Agra | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 2 | Rajkot | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 3 | Kampala | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 4 | Vasai-Virar | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 5 | Dakar | 🇸🇳 Senegal | |
| 6 | Kalyan-Dombivli | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 7 | Luxor | 🇪🇬 Egypt | |
| 8 | Helsinki | 🇫🇮 Finland | |
| 9 | Nashik | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 10 | Lahore | 🇵🇰 Pakistan |
Very likely
About 70% of wildlife watchers report a Western Yellow Wagtail sighting in Djoudj National Bird Sanctuary on a given day, based on 148 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 17th most-seen of the 173 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
February
In that month about 80% of wildlife watchers report a Western Yellow Wagtail in Djoudj National Bird Sanctuary on a given day, against about 60% in April and November, the lowest months. That is one of Djoudj National Bird Sanctuary's driest months, with almost no rain against 55 mm in August. May to October have too few records to rate.
Between 4 and 7 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Western Yellow Wagtail sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Yes
Of the 63 parks where we can rate Western Yellow Wagtail sightings, Djoudj National Bird Sanctuary has the highest daily chance: about 70%. Next come Fertő-Hanság National Park (Hungary, about 40%) and Kiskunság National Park (Hungary, about 40%). All parks ranked.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Western Yellow Wagtail is recorded against all the birds logged in Djoudj National Bird Sanctuary (148 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), 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.
