Wagtail, Citrine

Conservation status:

Rare Winter Visitor

Description:

Male unmistakable; N Russian race, citreola, has bright yellow head and underparts, black neck-band and grey upperparts; S central Asian calcarata has black mantle while W central Asian, werae, has no (or reduced) black neck-band and less rich yellow underparts; 2 broad pure white wing-bars characteristic at all ages. Female told from Yellow also by greyish upperparts (tinged olive-brown in Yellow) and yellow supercilium surrounding grey-brown cheeks to merge on sides of neck with yellowish throat. 1st autumn birds told from similar Yellow by colour of upperparts, wing-bars, female-like head and neck-pattern, often pale forehead and lores (darker in Yellow), whitish underparts without yellow, and call (1 st autumn Yellow has vent and undertail-coverts tinged yellow though race beema often lacks yellow below and is greyish above).