33. The Yellow Wagtail

It’s small but eye-catching, and even the casual observer cannot but notice the intense lemon yellow underside that gives this bird its name, not to mention that long, ever-bobbing tail. The yellow wagtail (M: isfar) is a common passage bird, so here in Malta we see it in spring and autumn. It’s a gregarious animal, so where you see one there¹s usually bound to be a few others. By day, yellow wagtails spread out over the open countryside to forage for insects in fields and meadows, but in the evening they regroup, sometimes in big numbers, to sleep in sheltered valleys, especially where there are reedbeds. BirdLife’s nature reserve at Is-Simar is one such place where yellow wagtails often come to roost, sometimes by the hundred. Copyright to Birdlife Malta.