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Yellow Wagtail Motacilla flava
IUCN Red List history
| Year | Category |
|---|---|
| 2012 | Least Concern |
| 2009 | Least Concern |
| 2008 | Least Concern |
| 2004 | Least Concern |
| 2000 | Lower Risk/Least Concern |
| 1994 | Lower Risk/Least Concern |
| 1988 | Lower Risk/Least Concern |
Species attributes
| Migratory status | full migrant | Forest dependency | Does not normally occur in forest |
| Land mass type | Average mass | 17.6 g |
Population & trend
| Estimate | Data quality | Derivation | Year of estimate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. of mature individuals | 50000000-150000000 | poor | Estimated | 2009 |
| Population trend | Decreasing | - | ||
| Number of subpopulations | - | - | - | |
| Largest subpopulation | - | - | - | |
| Generation length (yrs) | 4.7 | - | - | - |
| Population justification: In Europe, the breeding population is estimated to number 7900000-14000000 breeding pairs, equating to 23700000-42000000 individuals (BirdLife International 2004). Europe forms 25-49% of the global range, so a very preliminary estimate of the global population size is 48400000-168000000 individuals, although further validation of this estimate is needed. | ||||
| Trend justification: In Europe, trends since 1980 show that populations have undergone a moderate decline (p<0.01), based on provisional data for 21 countries from the Pan-European Common Bird Monitoring Scheme (EBCC/RSPB/BirdLife/Statistics Netherlands; P. Vorisek in litt. 2008). | ||||
Country/Territory distribution
| Country/Territory | Occurrence status | Extinct | Breeding | Non-breeding | Passage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afghanistan | Native | No | Yes | Yes | |
| Albania | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Algeria | Native | No | |||
| Angola | Native | No | |||
| Armenia | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Australia | Native | No | |||
| Austria | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Azerbaijan | Native | No | |||
| Bahrain | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Bangladesh | Native | No | |||
| Belarus | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Belgium | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Benin | Native | No | |||
| Bhutan | Native | No | |||
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Botswana | Native | No | |||
| Brunei | Native | No | |||
| Bulgaria | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Burkina Faso | Native | No | |||
| Burundi | Native | No | |||
| Cambodia | Native | No | |||
| Cameroon | Native | No | |||
| Canada | Native | No | |||
| Cape Verde | Vagrant | No | |||
| Côte d'Ivoire | Native | No | |||
| Central African Republic | Native | No | |||
| Chad | Native | No | |||
| China (mainland) | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Christmas Island (to Australia) | Native | No | |||
| Comoros | Vagrant | No | |||
| Congo | Native | No | |||
| Congo, The Democratic Republic of the | Native | No | |||
| Croatia | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Cyprus | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Czech Republic | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Denmark | Native | No | Yes | Yes | |
| Djibouti | Native | No | |||
| Egypt | Native | No | |||
| Equatorial Guinea | Native | No | |||
| Eritrea | Native | No | |||
| Estonia | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Ethiopia | Native | No | |||
| Faroe Islands (to Denmark) | Vagrant | No | |||
| Finland | Native | No | Yes | Yes | |
| France | Native | No | Yes | Yes | |
| Gabon | Native | No | |||
| Gambia | Native | No | |||
| Georgia | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Germany | Native | No | Yes | Yes | |
| Ghana | Native | No | |||
| Gibraltar (to UK) | Native | No | |||
| Greece | Native | No | Yes | Yes | |
| Guam (to USA) | Unknown | No | |||
| Guinea | Native | No | |||
| Guinea-Bissau | Native | No | |||
| Hong Kong (China) | Native | No | |||
| Hungary | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Iceland | Vagrant | No | |||
| India | Native | No | |||
| Indonesia | Native | No | |||
| Iran, Islamic Republic of | Native | No | Yes | Yes | |
| Iraq | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Ireland | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Israel | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Italy | Native | No | Yes | Yes | |
| Japan | Native | No | |||
| Jordan | Native | No | Yes | Yes | |
| Kazakhstan | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Kenya | Native | No | |||
| Kuwait | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Kyrgyzstan | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Laos | Native | No | |||
| Latvia | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Lebanon | Native | No | Yes | Yes | |
| Liberia | Native | No | |||
| Libya | Native | No | |||
| Liechtenstein | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Lithuania | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Luxembourg | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Macao (China) | Native | No | |||
| Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Malawi | Native | No | |||
| Malaysia | Native | No | |||
| Maldives | Vagrant | No | |||
| Mali | Native | No | |||
| Malta | Native | No | |||
| Mauritania | Native | No | |||
| Micronesia, Federated States of | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Moldova | Native | No | Yes | Yes | |
| Monaco | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Mongolia | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Montenegro | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Morocco | Native | No | |||
| Mozambique | Native | No | |||
| Myanmar | Native | No | |||
| Namibia | Native | No | |||
| Nepal | Native | No | |||
| Netherlands | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Niger | Native | No | |||
| Nigeria | Native | No | |||
| North Korea | Native | No | |||
| Northern Mariana Islands (to USA) | Unknown | No | |||
| Norway | Native | No | Yes | Yes | |
| Oman | Native | No | Yes | Yes | |
| Pakistan | Native | No | |||
| Palau | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Philippines | Native | No | |||
| Poland | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Portugal | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Qatar | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Romania | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Russia (Asian) | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Russia (Central Asian) | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Russia (European) | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Rwanda | Native | No | |||
| San Marino | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Saudi Arabia | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Senegal | Native | No | |||
| Serbia | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Seychelles | Vagrant | No | |||
| Sierra Leone | Native | No | |||
| Singapore | Native | No | |||
| Slovakia | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Slovenia | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Somalia | Native | No | |||
| South Africa | Native | No | |||
| South Korea | Native | No | |||
| South Sudan | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Spain | Native | No | |||
| Sri Lanka | Native | No | |||
| Sudan | Native | No | |||
| Svalbard and Jan Mayen Islands (to Norway) | Vagrant | No | |||
| Swaziland | Native | No | |||
| Sweden | Native | No | Yes | Yes | |
| Switzerland | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Syria | Native | No | Yes | Yes | |
| Taiwan (China) | Native | No | |||
| Tajikistan | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Tanzania | Native | No | |||
| Thailand | Native | No | |||
| Timor-Leste | Native | No | Yes | Yes | |
| Togo | Native | No | |||
| Tunisia | Native | No | |||
| Turkey | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Turkmenistan | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Uganda | Native | No | |||
| Ukraine | Native | No | Yes | Yes | |
| United Arab Emirates | Native | No | Yes | Yes | |
| United Kingdom | Native | No | Yes | ||
| USA | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Uzbekistan | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Vietnam | Native | No | |||
| Western Sahara | Native | No | |||
| Yemen | Native | No | Yes | Yes | |
| Zambia | Native | No | |||
| Zimbabwe | Native | No |
Habitats & altitude
| Habitat (level 1) | Habitat (level 2) | Importance | Occurrence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Artificial/Aquatic & Marine | Wastewater Treatment Areas | suitable | non-breeding |
| Artificial/Aquatic & Marine | Wastewater Treatment Areas | suitable | breeding |
| Artificial/Terrestrial | Arable Land | suitable | non-breeding |
| Artificial/Terrestrial | Pastureland | suitable | non-breeding |
| Grassland | Temperate | suitable | breeding |
| Grassland | Temperate | suitable | non-breeding |
| Grassland | Tundra | suitable | non-breeding |
| Grassland | Tundra | suitable | breeding |
| Shrubland | Temperate | suitable | breeding |
| Shrubland | Temperate | suitable | non-breeding |
| Wetlands (inland) | Bogs, Marshes, Swamps, Fens, Peatlands | suitable | non-breeding |
| Wetlands (inland) | Bogs, Marshes, Swamps, Fens, Peatlands | suitable | breeding |
| Wetlands (inland) | Permanent Freshwater Lakes (over 8ha) | suitable | breeding |
| Wetlands (inland) | Permanent Freshwater Lakes (over 8ha) | suitable | non-breeding |
| Wetlands (inland) | Permanent Rivers/Streams/Creeks (includes waterfalls) | suitable | breeding |
| Wetlands (inland) | Permanent Rivers/Streams/Creeks (includes waterfalls) | suitable | non-breeding |
| Altitude | 0 - 4500 m | Occasional altitudinal limits |
Utilisation
| Purpose | Primary form used | Life stage used | Source | Scale | Level | Timing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pets | Whole | Adults and juveniles | Wild | Subsistence, National | Non-trivial | Recent |
| Food (human) | Whole | Adults and juveniles | Wild | Subsistence, National | Non-trivial | Recent |
| Sport | Whole | Adults and juveniles | Wild | Subsistence, National | Non-trivial | Recent |
| Pets | Whole | Adults and juveniles | Wild | International | Non-trivial | Recent |
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2013) Species factsheet: Motacilla flava. Downloaded from
http://www.birdlife.org on 23/05/2013.
Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2013) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from
http://www.birdlife.org on 23/05/2013.
This information is based upon, and updates, the information published in BirdLife International (2000) Threatened birds of the world. Barcelona and Cambridge, UK: Lynx Edicions and BirdLife International, BirdLife International (2004) Threatened birds of the world 2004 CD-ROM and BirdLife International (2008) Threatened birds of the world 2008 CD-ROM. These sources provide the information for species accounts for the birds on the IUCN Red List.
To provide new information to update this factsheet or to correct any errors, please email BirdLife
To contribute to discussions on the evaluation of the IUCN Red List status of Globally Threatened Birds, please visit BirdLife's Globally Threatened Bird Forums.
| Key facts | |
|---|---|
| Current IUCN Red List category | Least Concern |
| Family | Motacillidae (Wagtails and pipits) |
| Species name author | Linnaeus, 1758 |
| Population size | 50000000-150000000 mature individuals |
| Population trend | Decreasing |
| Distribution size (breeding/resident) | - |
| Country endemic? | No |
| Links to further information | |
| - Summary information on this species | |
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