Citrine Wagtail

Motacilla citreola Pallas, 1776 (0, 2)

Photo © Craig Shaw

Ex BBRC species 31/12/2014

STATUS

Palearctic. Polytypic.

OVERVIEW

The first record was found on Fair Isle late September where amazingly another individual was found early October. Both admitted (BOU 1971).

One found in the Shetland Museum during the work on Birds of Shetland (2004) lacked a precise date and other details to be seriously considered as the first for Britain.

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1950-57 RECORDS

1). 1954 Fair Isle Gully, first-winter, 20th to 25th September, trapped, 20th and 23rd September, photo.

(K. Williamson, Fair Isle Bird Observatory Bulletin 2: 191-193; K. Williamson, British Birds 48: 26-29, plate 8; E. V. Baxter, Scottish Naturalist 68: 3; BOURC (1956), Ibis 98: 155; Thom, 1986; Dymond, 1991).

History Kenneth Williamson (1955) in British Birds, Vol. XLVIII. pp. 26-29, says: 'Two 1st-winter examples of the Yellow-headed Wagtail (Motacilla citreola), a Siberian species not previously recorded in the British Isles, were captured at Fair Isle on 20th September and 1st October 1954. The first, ringed B 88594, was caught in the Gully Trap at 1745 hours and was examined in the laboratory in a failing light by H. G. Alexander, Miss M. Haydock, H. Mayer-Gross, Mrs. A. W. Thom, Miss V. Thom and myself.

It appeared to be a young flava wagtail, but atypical in that the mantle was apparently pure grey. However, the light was so poor that I decided to postpone a detailed examination until the following day, so the bird was put into one of the roosting-boxes in the laboratory.

Next morning the impression gained the previous evening was confirmed: the mantle was altogether too grey for M. f. flava or the British flavissima, and this and other features of the plumage suggested M. citreola. Since the comparable plumage of the Grey-headed Wagtail (M. f. thunbergi) is not described in The Handbook, this identification could only be regarded as provisional, despite the general agreement of our bird with descriptions of 1st-winter citreola in Hartert (1910), Dresser (1871-81) and Gatke (1895).

A detailed note on the plumage (see below) was made after the bird had been re-weighed, and it was then released. It was not seen again on the 21st, but early on September 22nd H. G. Alexander found it on Buness, within 200 yards of the Observatory, and was able to study it closely in the field.

He later told me, he had seen the bird in India, I should have had no hesitation in calling it citreola. Later, returning disconsolate from an hour's fruitless quest on Buness, I found the bird feeding on the grass immediately behind the laboratory, I had it under observation in bright sunlight, at a range of down to 20 yards, for a long time, and wrote down: flava wagtail from in front, alba wagtail from behind. The blue-grey of back uniform and pure, contrasting with darker rump and black tail-feathers. The bird often carried the wing-tips below the level of the tail, showing the rump well. More sedate than an alba wagtail, with less tail-flicking and head-movement. Considerable white showed in the outer tail-feathers and secondary wing-feathers; the tips of greater and median wing-coverts made a striking double white wing-bar. The breast was distinctly buff and a buffish wash was noticeable on face and superciliary stripe. The fore-part of the crown and forehead appeared brownish. There was a noticeable grey wash along the sides of' the underparts from breast to flanks.

That night a new party arrived on The Good Shepherd, consisting of W. Conn, W. J. Eggeling, I. J. Ferguson-Lees, G. Mountfort, D. I. M. Wallace and W. J. Wallace. They were all out searching for the bird early next morning, but were unable to find it because one of the hostel staff had caught it in the Observatory "Heligoland" and put it in the laboratory pending my return from the traps!

All were able to examine the bird, and after it had been photographed (plate 8) by Guy Mountfort it was set free. It was seen on several occasions later that day and on the 24th, and the excellent sketch reproduced here was made by D. I. M. Wallace.

The laboratory description which had been taken down on the 21st was discussed and slightly modified, so that there was unanimity of opinion on exact shades of colour, at the evening conference on the 24th. The revised version reads as follows: - Nape and mantle slate-grey with a few warm brown feathers remaining from the juvenile plumage. Upper tail-coverts blackish. Crown and forehead grey tinged brownish, becoming yellowish-brown above the bill. Short black streak above the superciliary stripe, and a thin black malar stripe from gape to ear-coverts. The long white superciliary stripe was broadest behind the eye, and tinged with buff above the eye. Chin white, ear-coverts greyish flecked with white. Breast pale buff with greyish markings especially at the sides of neck. Belly whitish with a faint yellowish-buff wash, vent and under tail-coverts white. Sides of breast down to flanks greyish with a few warm brown feathers. Tail black, the outermost pair of feathers white, the penultimate pair with long white wedges. (The tail showed irregular moult). Wing-feathers brownish-black with clear white margins to inner secondaries and broad white tips to median and greater coverts, these forming a prominent double wing-bar. Legs blackish-brown, bill blackish, gape orange-yellow with pink centre, iris brownish-black. Structural details are given in Table I. It was noted that the hind claw was straighter than in specimens of M. flava. (including thunbergi) kept in the laboratory. When captured on 20th the bird's weight was 18.09 gm., and this had dropped to 16.76 gm. at 0540 hours on the 21st. When re-captured at 0700 hours on 23rd it showed a good gain to 18.78 gm.

The second bird was first seen on the afternoon of 1st October feeding on a beach at the south end of the isle, and occasionally hawking flies above the wrack. The observers who gathered to watch it were H. A. Craw, W. Craw, W. J. Eggeling, I. J. Ferguson-Lees and myself.

As we tried to get closer views the bird left the shore for a grassy field behind, and very soon flew to a marshy area beyond. This ground seemed much to its liking, and on a number of occasions when we disturbed it the bird took shelter in drainage ditches, remaining- in them to continue feeding. As there seemed a good chance of catching it in one or other of these ditches the Yeoman apparatus was erected over the deepest drain, and within a few minutes we had walked the bird into the trap.

The chief differences from wagtail B 88594 were a less strongly marked superciliary stripe, a suggestion of greenish-brown in the mantle, and a less pure grey wash on sides of breast and belly. The plumage of upper and under-parts was not so contrasting in the field, and the eye-stripe was only obvious at a moderate distance as a pale mark behind the eye. The bird's manner when on open ground was very similar, and again we had the impression that there was less movement of the tail than with other wagtails.

From each of these birds a single flat-fly was taken during examination with chloroform vapour for ectoparasites. Gordon Corbet has kindly confirmed the identity of these flies as males Ornithomyia fringillina Curt. and reports that both specimens show abnormality in the form of the large thoracic bristles. B 88633 was also seen by K. Allsop and J. Chillingworth, the last occasion being on 5th October.

The call-note, often heard, struck us as being different from that of the flava wagtails: there was general agreement that it was a slurred monosyllabic note best expressed as a high-pitched "sweeip"....By arrangement H. G. Alexander, I. J. Ferguson-Lees, Guy Mountfort and myself met at the Bird Room of the British Museum (Natural History) on 26th November and, after a careful examination of skins of 1st-winter M. citreola and M. f. thunbergi, were unanimous in the conclusion that the Fair Isle birds were referable to the former species. A note on the differences between these two rather similar wagtails will be appearing in a future number of British Birds.'

2). 1954 Fair Isle Southern beach, first-winter, 1st to 5th October, trapped 1st October.

(K. Williamson, Fair Isle Bird Observatory Bulletin 2: 191-193; K. Williamson, British Birds 48: 26-29; E. V. Baxter, Scottish Naturalist 68: 3; BOURC (1956), Ibis 98: 155; Thom, 1986; Dymond, 1991).

History See above record.

NOT PROVEN

0). 1882 Sussex Near Brighton, obtained, early April.

(Clifton, Field 29th Apr., 1882: 576).

[BOU, 1971].

History Lord Clifton from Brighton (1882) in The Field of 29th Apr., Vol. LIX. p. 576, dated 22nd April, says: 'A very remarkable Yellow Wagtail has since come in, which resembles an immature Yellow-headed Wagtail (M. citreola)...I hope to have the supposed Motacilla citreola examined by high authority.'

Not admitted nationally (BOU 1971).

0). 1930s Shetland No locality, shot, no date, now in Shetland Museum.

(Pennington et al., 2004).

[Pennington et al., 2004].

History Pennington et al. (2004: 370) says: 'A recently discovered specimen wrongly labelled "Blue-headed Wagtail" in the Shetland Museum had been shot in the 1930s in Shetland, but is wanting for other data.'

Comment Lacks adequate details for a first for Britain. Not acceptable.