Forest wagtail

The forest wagtail is a captivating medium-sized bird from the wagtail family, Motacillidae. What distinguishes this bird is its unique sideways tail-wagging behavior, unlike other wagtails that wag their tails up and down. It is also the only wagtail species that nests in trees. Predominantly found in forested areas across eastern Asia, they breed in temperate regions and migrate to tropical areas from India to Indonesia during winter.

Visually, the forest wagtail is quite striking. It features an olive-brown back and crown, black wings with yellow bars, white edges on its tertial feathers, and a prominent white supercilium (the stripe above its eye). Its underparts are white, adorned with a distinctive black double breast band. During the winter, you can observe them in woodland clearings and shaded forest areas. They breed in regions such as Korea, China, and Siberia, migrating as far south as southern India, Sri Lanka, and the Andaman Islands.

In terms of behavior, forest wagtails are usually solitary or found in small groups, foraging for insects both in trees and on the ground. They possess a distinctive song and often roost among reeds. The breeding season varies according to their location, but they typically build their nests in trees using materials like grass, rootlets, moss, and cobwebs. The female incubates the eggs alone, although both parents participate in feeding the young. As insectivorous birds, they primarily consume insects.

One of the most remarkable traits of the forest wagtail is its sideways tail-swishing behavior, a notable departure from the vertical tail-wagging seen in other wagtails. In Sri Lanka, these birds are frequently observed searching for maggots in cattle dung. Their call is a repeated single note ('pink pink'), and they also have a soft, lilting song. Interestingly, the brown shrike is known to mimic the calls of the forest wagtail.