White-browed wagtail

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The white-browed wagtail or large pied wagtail (Motacilla maderaspatensis) is a medium-sized bird and is the largest member of the wagtail family. They are conspicuously patterned with black above and white below, a prominent white brow, shoulder stripe and outer tail feathers. White-browed wagtails are native to the Indian subcontinent, common near small water bodies and have adapted to urban environments where they often nest on roof tops. The specific name is derived from the Indian city of Madras (now Chennai).

TaxonomyEdit

The white-browed wagtail was formally described in 1789 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's Systema Naturae. He placed it with the wagtails in the genus Motacilla and coined the binomial name Motacilla maderaspatensis.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book Specific epithet is misspelled as madaraspatensis.</ref> The specific epithet is Modern Latin for the locality, Madras (or Madraspattanam and now Chennai) in southern India.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Gmelin's account was based on the "black and white wagtail" that had been described and illustrated in 1713 by the English naturalist John Ray.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The species is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised.<ref name=ioc>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

DescriptionEdit

The white-browed wagtail is the largest species of wagtail at Template:Convert length. It is a slender bird, with the characteristic long, constantly wagging tail of its genus. It has black upperparts, head and breast, with a white supercilium and large white wingbar. Unlike white wagtails it never has white on the forehead. The rest of the underparts are white. The female has the black less intense than in the male. Juveniles are like the females brown-grey where the adult is black.<ref name=pcr/><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name=whistler>Template:Cite book</ref>

Distribution and habitatEdit

File:White-browed Wagtail (Motacilla maderaspatensis) carrying feed for the chicks W IMG 2622.jpg

Foraging on a water lily leaf

The white-browed wagtail is a resident breeder in India and is endemic to the Indian subcontinent. It is found south of the Himalayas, east of the Indus system and to the west of Bangladesh. It is rare in the higher altitude regions but has been seen in Ladakh on the edge of the Tibetan plateau.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> In most of India it is found below 1000 m but in southern India it goes up into the hills up to 2200 m.<ref name=pcr/> It is very rare in the Indus valley area.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> It is absent from the Sind region of Pakistan. It is found in open freshwater wetland habitats. It is one of the few Motacilla wagtails that has adapted well to urban habitats and is often found perched on overhead water storages in residential buildings.<ref name=hbk/><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

It is a rare winter visitor to Sri Lanka and have possibly extended their range in recent times.<ref name=pcr/><ref name=hbk/><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Taxonomy and systematicsEdit

Stuart Baker in his second edition of The Fauna of British India considered this as a subspecies of the white wagtail, calling it Motacilla lugubris maderaspatensis.<ref name=pcr>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> This was however criticized by C B Ticehurst, who noted that it was much larger, never had the white forehead of the white wagtail, was non-migratory and lacked a spring moult.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> This species is now considered to form a superspecies with Japanese wagtail, Mekong wagtail and the more distant African pied wagtail. Similarities in pre-copulatory behaviour with the Japanese wagtail have been noted.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Its song much resembles that of the recently described Mekong wagtail. mtDNA cytochrome b and NADH dehydrogenase subunit 2 sequence data has not been able to robustly resolve the relationships of these birds, especially in respect to the blue-headed wagtail and its relatives.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

The species is considered monotypic and subspecies such as kangrae described by Walter Koelz are not recognized.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Behaviour and ecologyEdit

Usually seen in pairs or small groups near open water. They call often especially in the mornings<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> and are active like most other wagtails. They will perch on the ground as well as on wires or on buildings. The song is long and loud with many different notes. The usual call is a wheezy "wheech".<ref name=pcr/> They can fly fairly rapidly for long distances and they fly with a bounding (dipping and rising) flight pattern and have been recorded to travel at the speed of about 40 km/h.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Endoparasitic filarial parasites of the species Splendidofilaria singhi have been recorded in individuals of the species.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

BreedingEdit

File:White-browed Wagtail (Motacilla maderaspatensis) collecting waste material from the chicks W IMG 2647.jpg

White-browed wagtail at nest in Hyderabad, India

The breeding season is March to October.<ref name=pcr/> In southern India, the nesting season begins when river levels drop and continue until the Monsoon rains.<ref name=hbk/> In courtship, the male shoots into the air with a single wing beat, sings and glides with dangling legs and puffed feathers. On settling, the tail of the male is raised high and wings held up over the back and the tip is quivered stiffly while he steps around the female. The female responds by crouching and shivering the wings as if begging for food.<ref name=hbk>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

It builds its cup-shaped nest placed on the ground or rocks in a hole, ledge or mud bank and is always located close to water. Artificial structures such as bridges and roof tops are also used.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Nests have been noticed in a regularly used ferry. The nest is made of grass, roots, algae and other material with a central neat cup lined with hair. Normally four, and three to five eggs is the usual clutch.<ref name=hbk/><ref name=hume>Template:Cite book</ref>

FoodEdit

Like other wagtails, this species is insectivorous. Nestlings were mainly fed orthopterans, caterpillars and spiders.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Stayphylinid beetles and pentatomid bugs have also been recorded in their diet.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> They have adapted to urban environments where water may be found mainly on rooftops as overflow from storage tanks.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

In cultureEdit

In older times in India, the species was sometimes kept as a cage-bird and was acclaimed for its singing ability. The native name of khanjan is used in the phrase "khanjan-eyed" to describe someone with beautiful eyes.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The Khanjan was held sacred and considered a good omen in India as it supposedly bore an impression of Vishnu's shaligram on its breast.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> A variety of beliefs on the future predicted by where the bird sat and what it did have been documented by Saratchandra Mitra.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Another local name for wagtails in India is dhobin (or washerwoman).<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

ReferencesEdit

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