Birds have funny names, and one such funny name is “wagtail”. Tail wagging is usually associated with Dogs, our best friends in the animal world, but there is a group of birds too that are named wagtails and as their name suggests they do wag their tails. Of all the six species of wagtails reported from India, only one species is a resident while the rest are migratory to the country. Within the wagtails there is one species however which is unique and stands apart again because of the way it wags its tail, this is the Forest Wagtail. While all other wagtails wag their tails up and down, the Forest Wagtail wags its tail sideways! It is not only the tail wagging that sets it apart from the other wagtails; the Forest Wagtail is also the only wagtail which nests in trees and are typically found only in forest habitats. The Forest Wagtail unlike the other wagtails is placed in a separate genus called while all other wagtails are placed in genus .
This species breeds in eastern Asia, parts of Korea, China and Siberia. In winter, they migrate towards warmer parts of Asia towards peninsular India and Sri Lanka.
The Forest Wagtail has interesting names in different parts of the world. It is called Jokofury-sekirei in Japanese which translates to sideways-swinging wagtail which is based on the habit of this species. In Sri Lanka, it is called as gomarita (=dung-spreader) because of their habit of searching for maggots in cattle dung.
The Forest Wagtail is a small sized bird (18 cm in length), slender in built with a long tail. The back and crown are olive brown, while the wings are black with two yellow wing bars. They have a white eyebrow (supercilium). The underparts of their body are white, and they have a distinct black double breast band. The upper breast band is continuous while the lower band is often broken. They are monomorphic, that is sexes are similar in this species.
The Forest Wagtail is usually a solitary bird and rarely can be seen in small loose groups. They forage in trees and large shrubs searching for insects along the branches. Sometimes, they also forage on the ground rummaging for insects in the leaf litter. When disturbed, they fly up to the nearest tree with a sharp “Pik” call uttered at the start of their flight. In its entire range of migration, the Forest Wagtail can be seen in dense gardens and orchards foraging for insects making a brief stopover before making a final move to their winter grounds.
Forest Wagtails bread throughout north-east Asia in summer and winter in south-east Asia, Western Ghats in India and Sri Lanka. International Union for Conservation of Nature has listed Forest Wagtail as least concerned in terms of conservation prioritization.
Image Credit: Mangirish Dharwadkar
