Black-headed Wagtail (BBRC)

Black-headed Wagtail Motacilla flava feldegg

Vagrant. Balkans, Turkey, Caucasus.

An individual of this race was photographed at Holbeach Marsh in June 2004, and although observed only briefly, did not appear to show any features at variance with pure M.f. feldegg and was accepted by BBRC (British Birds 2007). The summary and advice given by BBRC in their 2005 report was as follows (extract):

"The number of accepted records dropped in the mid-1990s following a protracted review after the publication of van den Berg & Oreel (1985), a paper which highlighted the potential pitfall of very dark-headed (Grey-headed Wagtail) M. f. thunbergi and led to a requirement for breeding-plumage males to show a jet-black hood to enable acceptance.....One critical feature of both the Scilly and the Devon birds was the presence of green feathering in the nape; this is not a characteristic of thunbergi, in which dark-headed males will always retain bluish-grey tones in the nape, but is a key feature of fresh feldegg. To ensure acceptance, it remains critical that individuals do not show evidence of features that may indicate intergradation with another form. The photographed bird in Lincolnshire, although observed only briefly, did not appear to show any features at variance with pure feldegg.

Site	First date	Last date	Count	Notes
Goddams Lane, Holbeach	04/06/2004	-	1	Adult male

Finder’s report: Black-headed Wagtail, Goddams Lane, Holbeach, June 4th, 2004, first county record.

by J Gilroy.

Note: based on the account from the original BBRC submission. Still a major British rarity with just 20 records up to 2018. The BBRC report for 2005 commented that the photographed bird in Lincolnshire,although observed only briefly,did not appear to show any features at variance with pure feldegg.

Circumstances

JG was in the second year of a PhD study on the breeding ecology of Yellow Wagtail Motacilla flava flavissima in arable farmland when he located this bird during a transect survey in fields near Holbeach. He saw it fly slowly overhead, calling, when it landed 50m. away in a field of Cauliflowers. It remained there for several minutes, allowing an approach to within 25 m. After around three minutes it was attacked by a male M. f. flavissima and it flew off strongly to the north in the company of other flava wagtails and disappeared over a small spinney and could not be relocated.

The bird was seen after a prolonged period of SE winds which brought various Mediterranean overshoots to the UK, including three Squacco Herons, a Scops Owl, Little Swift and a Collared Flycatcher. The area in which it was seen was a major hotspot of Yellow Wagtail activity with an unusually high territory density (at least 10 pairs in 1km2.). It was also one of the few areas being ploughed; active ploughs are highly attractive to Yellow Wagtails and when the Black-headed Wagtail flew in it came from the direction of a working plough.

Description

Call – the bird called as it flew in, I didn’t hear it as it flew away. The only call given was a short “chrip” alarm call repeated about three times, most similar to that given by territorial or breeding flavissima. It sounded basically similar to flavissima although it seemed harsher and drier. Unfortunately, the bird never gave a full flight call, which is the only call known conclusively to differ between feldegg and other forms.

Size and structure – Basically the same as Yellow Wagtail: a small bird with a deep chest and proportionately long tail, held slightly downwards when perched. Tertials completely covered primary tips when not in flight. Bill fine and sharply pointed, legs very long. The bird gave the impression of being slightly larger, with a longer, heavier bill than nearby flavissima. However, I suspect that this difference was an optical illusion resulting from the jet black head. During the viewing period it did not wag its tail.

Upperparts – upperparts of the head (crown, forehead, lores, ear coverts and nape) were all monotone jet black, with a glossy sheen visible from many angles as the bird turned its head. The black plumage appeared to stretch just below the eye, reached the bill and extended most of the way down the nape, where it merged abruptly with the greenish grey of the upper mantle. There was no evidence of any grey (or any other colour) anywhere on the head. The black on the nape merged directly into the even greenish-grey of the mantle, without any noticeable intergrading of grey, though there was a band of darker greenish directly adjacent to the black. There was no evidence of any supercilium and no contrast between the ear coverts and crown. The mantle was even rich greyish-green – a slightly brighter green than on average flavissima, though mantle colour seems to me to be highly variable in Yellow Wagtails, with some male flavissima being as bright as any feldegg. Greater and median coverts and tertials were blackish-grey, broadly fringed yellowish white. White edges to the otherwise dark primaries formed a whitish-yellow wing panel. Tail was dark with broad white webs to the outer feathers. I did not see the colour of the uppertail coverts.

Underparts – throat, breast, belly, and vent were a rich, bright marigold yellow. This colour was richer and more orangey than any of the flavissima present in the area. A tiny strip of white was present on the throat, along the lower mandible, though it was only visible when the bird held its head at certain angles.

Otherwise, the throat appeared all yellow. There was no evidence of dark mottling around the breast, which in my experience (rather limited) is always present on thunbergei.

Bare parts – bill and legs were jet black. Eyes were dark.

References

Fraser, P. A., Rogers, and the Rarities Committee (2007). Report on Rare Birds in Great Britain in 2005, Part II: Passerines. British Birds 100 (2): p 77.

van den Berg, M., & Oreel, G. J. (1985). Field identification of Black-headed Yellow Wagtails in Western Europe. British Birds 78: 176–183.

(Updated with reference to the new Birds of Lincolnshire (2021) December 2022)

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