Birdwatching - 3184🐦

🦉 The western yellow wagtail (Motacilla flava)

• Motacilla lat .: mōto, mōtare move continuously, -cilla tail (cilla like a tail - only in ornithology, erroneous established name)
• flava flavus (lat.) yellow, gold, golden yellow

These brightly colored birds inhabit open spaces near bodies of water. Specifically, I encountered the bird in my photos in a meadow near a river. They are very visible in the spring, when there is little dense vegetation and the background is uniform. In the summer, they are more difficult to spot because they are quiet and unobtrusive, and the grass and undergrowth get in the way.

The bird itself isn't particularly shy; you can approach it more closely if you're careful. Incidentally, the bird in the photo with its beak open isn't because it's singing or calling, but because it was very, very hot that day.