Western Yellow Wagtail

16 cm

8 years

Western Yellow Wagtail mainly eat invertebrates. They forage on the ground, using their keen vision to spot prey. This bird has adapted to prefer wet environments for their abundant food sources. Their diet uniquely consists of various insects, especially during breeding season.

Western Yellow Wagtail often inhabits a wide range of damp or wet environments with sparse vegetation. These encompass damp grasslands, water meadows, marshes, waterside pastures, and the fringes of freshwater habitats such as lakes and marshes. They are also found in bogs, damp steppe, and grassy tundra regions, as well as clearings within forests in northern areas of their range. During the non-breeding season, western Yellow Wagtail utilizes similar wet habitats, including cultivated lands, and roosts in dense reed beds. Preferences vary among the different races, with some favoring swampy and lake-side terrains, associating with cattle and large mammals, especially during migration and non-breeding seasons. Typically, western Yellow Wagtail occupies lowland areas but can also be found at high altitudes up to 2500 meters in the Caucasus and between 3600–4500 meters in Ladakh.