The citrine wagtail is a small songbird in the family Motacillidae.
Region
Eurasia
Typical Environment
Breeds across temperate Eurasia from eastern Europe and Turkey through Kazakhstan, southern Siberia, Mongolia, and northwestern China. In winter it migrates to the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, and parts of the Middle East. It favors open, wet habitats such as marshes, flooded meadows, rice paddies, river deltas, and lake margins. During migration it also uses coastal lagoons and sewage ponds, often in loose flocks.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 4500 m
Climate Zone
Temperate
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
The citrine wagtail is a small, active songbird that constantly wags its long tail while foraging along wet margins. Breeding males show a striking lemon-yellow head and underparts, making them conspicuous in spring. They often follow livestock or move through rice paddies to flush insects. Vagrants occasionally appear far west of their core range during migration.
Temperament
social and active
Flight Pattern
low, undulating flight with short rapid wingbeats
Social Behavior
Outside the breeding season it forms loose flocks and often roosts communally in reedbeds. In spring, pairs establish territories near water; males perform short song-flights and display from perches. Nests are usually on or near the ground in dense grass or sedges, with both adults feeding the young.
Migratory Pattern
Seasonal migrant
Song Description
Calls are sharp, thin 'tsip' or 'tsee' notes given in flight or while foraging. The song is a soft, rapid twitter of thin, sibilant phrases, often delivered during short aerial displays.
Plumage
Slender wagtail with long tail and fine bill; breeding males are bright lemon-yellow on the head and underparts with grey to dark upperparts and white-edged wings. Females and immatures are greyer with a whitish face and supercilium, and a variable yellow wash below. The long tail has contrasting white outer feathers and is frequently wagged.
Diet
Primarily consumes small insects such as flies, midges, beetles, ants, and their larvae. It also takes aquatic invertebrates, including small crustaceans and midge larvae, from the water’s edge. Prey is picked from the ground, vegetation, or water surface, and occasionally hawked in short sallies. Seeds are taken opportunistically, mostly in winter, but animal prey dominates year-round.
Preferred Environment
Feeds along muddy or grassy margins of wetlands, riverbanks, and lake shores, as well as in wet pastures and rice fields. Often follows grazing animals to flush insects and forages on floating vegetation in reedbeds. Readily uses human-modified wetlands and irrigation areas during migration and winter.
