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Dutch name witte kwikstaart latin name motacilla alba
The white wagtail is 16.5 to 19 cm long (including tail). It is a slender bird with narrow black and white tail he moves up and down. An adult male has a distinctive black and white pattern on the head. The area around the eye is white, the head cap and thorax are black. The most common among species has a gray back. A subspecies that breeds in the British Isles has a black back and called mourning Wagtail (M. a. Yarrellii). Sometimes this subspecies is considered to be kind, but not according to the IOC World Bird List.
The white wagtail is a small passerine bird in the wagtail family Motacillidae, which also includes the pipits and longclaws. This species breeds in much of Europe and Asia and parts of north Africa. It is resident in the mildest parts of its range, but otherwise migrates to Africa. It has a toehold in Alaska as a scarce breeder. In the British Isles the darker sub-species the pied wagtail predominates.
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