Madagascar wagtail
| Madagascar wagtail | ||||||||||||
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Madagascar wagtail ( Motacilla flaviventris ) |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Motacilla flaviventris | ||||||||||||
| Hartlaub , 1860 |
The Madagascar wagtail ( Motacilla flaviventris ) is a songbird species from the family of stilts and pipiters , which is endemic to Madagascar and mostly inhabits open land areas near waterways, but also within forests, in the cultural landscape and near settlements. The monotypic species is classified as not threatened by the IUCN .
description
With a body length of about 19 cm, the Madagascar wagtail is about the same size as a white wagtail . The beak is blackish, the legs are dark gray, and the iris is brown.
In the male, a narrow, white stripe over the eyes stands out from the gray color of the head and neck . The beard stripe, reins and a wide eye stripe that ends behind the eye are black. There is a narrow, white half-ring under the eye. The ear covers are lightened whitish. The underside is white from the chin and throat and lively lemon yellow on the belly and flanks. A strong black chest band runs to the sides of the neck, where it merges into the beard strip. The top is gray and plays a little olive green on the rump and upper tail coverts. The wing plumage is black-brown with white bases on the wings and white seams on the umbrella feathers . The white tips of the large arm covers form an indistinct band on the wing. Of the otherwise black control springs , only the outer pair is white.
Like young birds, females are a little more dull in color.
voice
The singing performed from waiting or from a singing flight is a melodic trie-trieoh that resembles the call, but is not as rough. It is mostly repeated several times and it is followed by melodic, fluting sounds. In addition, a somewhat more complex chant was described, which probably came from a male. The call (audio sample) is a somewhat scratchy tri tri-u that is often repeated several times and is sometimes followed by more melodic phrases.
Distribution and existence
The monotypical Madagascar wagtail occurs only in Madagascar. It is not endangered and a common breeding bird almost everywhere on the island. The highest densities are found in the east and in the central highlands, while the species is less numerous in the north and west. Only in the south is it only scattered. As a cultural follower, it has probably benefited greatly from human settlement activities and is very often found in settlement areas.
Migratory movements are probably limited to altitude migration: the birds of the central highlands pass in the winter half of the year to lower regions.
habitat
The habitat requirements are similar to those of the white wagtail. The species is found preferentially in bodies of water of all kinds such as lakes, rivers and fish ponds, swamps and rice fields as well as on the coast. Away from the water, it occurs in forest clearings, in the open cultural landscape and in village and urban settlement areas. The altitude distribution extends up to about 2600 m.
nutrition
The diet consists mainly of insects and spiders. Caterpillars and butterflies, insects and small lizards are fed to the nest. The food is mainly looked for on the ground, occasionally small catch flights are inserted.
Reproduction
The breeding season is between August and November, there are two annual broods. This year's birds from previous broods are apparently partly participating in the feeding of the second broods.
The nest is usually built low in bushes, in forked branches, crevices in the rock, under roofs and often near water. It is a chunky building that contains a bowl made of small twigs, stalks and moss and is padded with finer material. The clutch usually consists of 3–4, more rarely two eggs, which are incubated by both parents. The nestling period is between 15 and 16 days, feed both sexes.
literature
- J. del Hoyo, A. Elliot, D. Christie (Eds.): Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 9: Cotingas to Pipits and Wagtails . Lynx Edicions 2004, ISBN 8487334695
Web links
- Motacilla flaviventris in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2008. Posted by: BirdLife International, 2009. Accessed February 9, 2011th
- Motacilla flaviventris videos, photos and sound recordings in the Internet Bird Collection , accessed February 9, 2011
- xeno-canto: Sound recordings - Madagascar Wagtail ( Motacilla flaviventris )
Individual evidence
- ↑ Bram Piot: XC18906 Madagascar wagtail Motacilla flaviventris (MP3) xeno-canto.org. May 26, 2007. Accessed August 31, 2019.