Motacilla cinerea

Bird of month April 2013

Sci: Motacilla cinerea, 
No: Vintererle, Eng: Grey wagtail, It: Ballerina gialla, Fr: Bergeronnette des ruisseaux

Dear All,

My bird of this month, the grey wagtail, is a cousin of the common wagtail (linerle) living near rivers and streams. It is not a common bird in West-Norway, but more frequently seen around the Oslo fjord. This is a male, seen from the black throat in second photo. Note that there exists also a "Gulerle" (Yellow wagtail), which does not have a grey head, and not as long tail as this one. I think the Italian name "yellow ballerina" is much more poetic than the English "Grey wagtail", although the English name helps distinguish it from the Yellow Wagtail.


Thanks to Harald and Aurora for helping finding this in Nestun near Bergen.

Best regards,
Hans