Various subspecies/types of Yellow Wagtail - Jubail

Whilst birding the Jubail area in the spring I came across a number of different subspecies/types of Yellow Wagtails. These included birds showing characteristics of dombrowskii which is an intergrade between feldegg (Black-headed Wagtail) and flava (Blue-headed Wagtail) and supeciliaris which is an intergrade between feldegg (Black-headed Wagtail) and lutea (Yellow-headed Wagtail), flava (Blue-headed Wagtail) or beema (Sykes’s Wagtail). Both 'superciliaris' and 'dombrowskii' can be seen on spring migration in the Middle East and most authors agree that 'superciliaris', 'xanthophrys' and 'dombrowskii' are intergrades, as no area is known in which the majority of the population match any of these forms, and the majority of breeding records of 'superciliaris' and 'dombrowskii' come from the wide zone of intergradation between feldegg and flava. Intergrades between feldegg and flava are highly variable in the colour of the crown, and many birds are intermediate and difficult to place in either 'superciliaris' or 'dombrowskii'. Also thunbergi or Grey-headed Wagtail which occurs from Scandinavia eastwards to northwest Siberia and winters mainly in sub-Saharan Africa and across S & SE Asia. M. f. flava or Blue-headed Wagtail which occurs from northern and central Europe east to the Urals and winters in sub-Saharan Africa. M. f. melanogrisea or Eastern Black-headed Wagtail which occurs from the Volga Delta and southwest Kazakhstan south to northeast Iran and Afghanistan and winters mainly in south Asia eastwards to western Nepal and possibly also northeast Africa.

dombrowskii type

dombrowskii type

supercilliaris type

supercilliaris type

thunbergi

thunbergi

thunbergi

melanogrisea

flava

Eastern Black-headed Yellow Wagtail – Jubail

Whilst birding Jubail at the end of March I found ta number of Eastern Black-headed Yellow Wagtail melanogrisea feeding along a path and near the waters edge.  This subspecies is not as common as Black-headed Wagtail feldegg in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia but arrive in early to mid-March similar to feldegg. Some individual Black-headed Yellow Wagtails feldegg, more common in the eastern part of their range, show some white on the sides of the throat (often also on upper throat) like the ones I saw and have been named melanogrisea. Melanogrisea is said to breed from the eastern shores of the Caspian Sea south to northern Afghanistan and the Tian Shan, and east to Lake Balkhash, Tarbagatay and Dzungaria and winter mainly in India. Plumage wise it is close to feldegg but slightly brighter and paler green on the back, paler yellow below with the chin white instead of yellow and the yellow throat separated from the black ear-coverts by a more or less narrow white line lacking in feldegg. The hood also does not reach the back onto the mantle. These differences are not consistent according to Alstrom and Mild ‘Pipits & Wagtails’ and they do not think it is a valid subspecies saying birds showing characteristics of melanogrisea are uncommon spring migrants in East Africa and comprise 10% of the feldegg passing in spring in Israel and many birds in spring in India appear to be typical feldegg. Birds on the breeding grounds of melanogrisea also lack the white stripe and some birds in the European breeding range of feldegg also have a white stripe. As a result Alstrom & Mild regard melanogrisea as a plumage variant within feldegg that becomes clinally commoner in the eastern part of the breeding range. This is probably correct as the birds I saw show signs of melanogrisea but lack the white throat mentioned for that type.

Eastern Black-headed Yellow Wagtail melanogrisea – Sabkhat Al Fasl

Whilst birding Sabkhat Al Fasl 6 March I found two Eastern Black-headed Yellow Wagtail melanogrisea feeding along a path and near the waters edge.  This subspecies is not as common as Black-headed Wagtail feldegg in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia but arrive in early march similar to feldegg. Some individual Black-headed Yellow Wagtails, more common in the eastern part of their range, show some white on sides of the throat (often also on upper throat) like the ones I saw and have been named melanogrisea. Melanogrisea is said to breed from the eastern shores of the Caspian Sea south to northern Afghanistan and the Tian Shan, and east to Lake Balkhash, Tarbagatay and Dzungaria and winter mainly in India. Plumage wise it is close to feldegg but slightly brighter and paler green on the back, paler yellow below with the chin white instead of yellow and the yellow throat separated from the black ear-coverts by a more or less narrow white line lacking in feldegg. The hood also does not reach the back onto the mantle. These differences are not consistent according to Alstrom and Mild ‘Pipits & Wagtails’ and they do not think it is a valid subspecies saying birds showing characteristics of melanogrisea are uncommon spring migrants in East Africa and comprise 10% of the feldegg passing in spring in Israel and many birds in spring in India appear to be typical feldegg. Birds on the breeding grounds of melanogrisea also lack the white stripe and some birds in the European breeding range of feldegg also have a white stripe. As a result Alstrom & Mild regard melanogrisea as a plumage variant within feldegg that becomes clinally commoner in the eastern part of the breeding range. This is probably correct as the birds I saw show signs of melanogrisea but lack the white throat mentioned for that type.

Eastern Black-headed Wagtails again – Dhahran Hills

Mike Pope in Kuwait saw some Black-headed Wagtails a couple of weeks ago and mentioned that the majority were typical feldegg, but he did find (and a first for him) and single Eastern Black-headed Wagtail and was able to photograph both in similar poses for comparative purposes. I also found three of these Eastern Black-headed Yellow Wagtails in a group of typical feldegg on 16 March, as well as five on the 18 March and followed Mike’s example with the results the bottom compilation photo. These were also my first records of this sub-species in Saudi Arabia and it is interesting to see that the excellent Birds of Kuwait a comprehensive visual guide has their status as a common passage migrant with feldegg as a very common passage migrant and winter visitor. If this is the correct status of melanogrisea it is surprising both Mike and myself have not seen them before in our respective countries of Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. Mike mentioned that others in Kuwait have seen the subspecies more often than him and the status of common is fine and also mentioned the status may be seasonal with birds more abundant in some years than others. I will be keeping a close look out for this type of bird again to see if the status in Kuwait matches that in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. The group of birds I saw on 18 March, all of which were around the edge of the settling pond as previously, totalled ten birds with five males all of which were melanogrisea.

Some individuals, more common in the eastern part of their range, show some white on sides of the throat (often also on upper throat) like the ones I saw. Melanogrisea is said to breed from the eastern shores of the Caspian Sea south to northern Afghanistan and the Tian Shan, and east to Lake Balkhash, Tarbagatay and Dzungaria and winter mainly in India. Plumage wise it is close to feldegg but slightly brighter and paler green on the back, paler yellow below with the chin white instead of yellow and the yellow throat separated from the black ear-coverts by a more or less narrow white line lacking in feldegg. The hood also does not reach the back onto the mantle. These differences are not consistent according to Alstrom and Mild ‘Pipits & Wagtails’ and they do not think it is a valid subspecies saying birds showing characteristics of melanogrisea are uncommon spring migrants in East Africa and comprise 10% of the feldegg passing in spring in Israel and many birds in spring in India appear to be typical feldegg. Birds on the breeding grounds of melanogrisea also lack the white stripe and some birds in the European breeding range of feldegg also have a white stripe. As a result Alstrom & Mild regard melanogrisea as a plumage variant within feldegg that becomes clinally commoner in the eastern part of the breeding rang

Eastern Black-headed Wagtails – Dhahran Hills

Whilst birding the ‘patch’ yesterday I saw a few Yellow Wagtails flying over and then later a large flock of about thirty birds feeding around the edge of the settling pond. This flock contained mainly Eastern Black-headed Wagtails Motacilla flava ‘melanogrisea’ an eastern variant of the Black-headed Wagtail subspecies, which it closely resembles. The main difference is the white moustacial stripe below the black head, that is often difficult to see. Below are photographs of three different birds and these are the first decent photographs I have managed to take of this subspecies so I was quite pleased with my efforts. Also in the flock were two Grey-headed Wagtails and a Blue-headed Wagtail as well as five White Wagtails. Eastern Black-headed Wagtails are an uncommon passage migrant in the Eastern Part of Saudi Arabia and are mostly seen in mixed wagtail flocks like the one these birds were in. Black-headed Wagtail is the commonest subspecies of Yellow Wagtail occurring in the Eastern Province of the Kingdom and will become very common over the next few weeks.