White Wagtail

Motacilla alba · Songbirds

White Wagtail, on a vineyard post

Bordeaux and the surrounding area, 8 May 2026

A White Wagtail on a vineyard post outside Bordeaux, about as at home on a fence post as anywhere else. One of the most widespread birds in the world by range, breeding from Iceland to the Bering Strait, and open ground near water or farmland is all it asks for.

Muted grey-brown overall with no clean black cap or bib, which points to a juvenile rather than an adult; breeding adults carry a much bolder black-and-white head pattern. The constant tail-bobbing that gives the wagtails their name is more reliable than any plumage feature, though it doesn't show in a still frame. The British form, the Pied Wagtail, is the same bird with a black back.