BTO Bird ID - Yellow-coloured wagtails

When is a yellow wagtail not a Yellow Wagtail? These bright-coloured summer visitors are declining across much of their range and a frequent mistake is believing that any wagtail showing yellow in its plumage is this species. This video will help you separate individuals from the more widespread resident Grey Wagtail - which despite the name always shows yellow! - and even juvenile Pied Wagtails.

[DarrenMartin-xv]

I saw a Pied Wagtail in the urban area of my home town and then saw a Grey Wagtail just a minute or so later. Lovely birds.

[bobbyshafto]

Fabulous little "characters". I regularly see Pied in the town centre of Huddersfield/ motorway service station car parks and Grey, alongside rivers /streams around West Yorkshire. As for the Yellow...WOW... as far as I'm concerned it's a real treat to EVER see a Yellow Wagtail (twice in the last decade 1.River Skirfare in Yorkshire Dales 2.Blea Moor, a mile or two from Ribblehead Viaduct). Whenever anybody tells me they've seen a Yellow, I correct them and say "no, it was a Grey", depending on their location of course.

[domdauntless]

Just saw a Grey Wagtail for the first time in Louth in Lincolnshire, and it was next to a small waterfall, thanks for explaining, i see Yellow Wagtails in the summer most years, and forever see Pied Wagtails.

[koenraad]

The yellow wagtail is called ‘English wagtail’ (Engelse kwik-staart) in the Netherlands (can be found only at the Dutch coast and all come from England)). The blue-headed wagtail is almost the same as the Dutch ‘gele kwik-staart’ (yellow wag tail). I spotted the beautifully coloured ‘English’ yellow wagtail a few times in the Dutch dunes, I was amazed at the olive green coloured back, a rare bird in the Netherlands.

[tombradford]

Well, you've cleared up the mystery of the yellowish bird visiting my garden each day! Thanks. (He's a Grey Wagtail).

[jasondickson]

Saw my first yellow wagtail near Evesham a few weeks ago. Absolutely stunningly beautiful bird.

[ruthsouthorn]

Very helpful, thanks - I just had a grey wagtail visitor to my garden (who seemed very panicked as it kept fluttering up and calling at the kitchen window, I suspect, fearing its own reflection)

[kayanowtoo]

First saw this bird 2 years ago on the green outside my flat in Camberwell and again each summer since. It flies around in figure of eights just above the ground catching flies and other insects. Thanks, I now know what it is. (Grey wagtail).

[dvmusic]

Very useful video, thanks. My little visitor is a grey wagtail.

[kipstrange]

There is still a few breeding pairs of yellow wagtails in south Lanarkshire.

[urfavoritehumanbean]

I just discovered, after some weirdly satisfying research, that my surname comes from one of the two ancient Italian names for this bird.

[jameskokoby]

i think my bird is yellow female wagtail but she has no tail. why causes this to happened?

[jash]

very often seen pied wagtails walking across the supermarket car park-no idea why they come there?

[grantrennie]

BTOvideo wrong, there are several breeding pairs here in Argyll Scotland

[pritimeena]

Yellow colour wali bird kya khati he mujhe mili he

[anwarsaeed]

These are also in pakistan nwfp (kpk) karak

[fazelifazelullah]

I have also seen this bird's in Afghanistan.