BTO - Breeding Birds of the Wider Countryside: Yellow Wagtail

YELLOW WAGTAIL
Motacilla flava

Conservation listings

Europe: no SPEC category (favourable conservation status in Europe, not concentrated in Europe)
UK: amber (25-50% population decline)

Long-term trend

UK, England: rapid decline

Distribution maps

Maps and statistics from British and Irish
atlases can be viewed here.

Status summary

Britain holds almost the entire population of the distinctive race flavissima, and so population changes in the UK are of special signficance. Yellow Wagtails have been in decline since the early 1980s, according to CBC/BBS and especially WBS, and have now been moved from the Green to the amber list. Continuation of the decline since 1999 already suggests that red listing is appropriate. Gibbons et al. (1993) identified a range contraction towards a core area in central England, concurrent with the early years of decline. Farmland drainage, the conversion of pasture to arable land, the change from spring to winter cereals, and the loss of insects associated with cattle have been cited as potential causes (Gibbons et al. 1993, Nelson et al. 2003). Although sample sizes are small, there has been a significant reduction in brood size since the mid 1960s.

Table of population changes for Yellow Wagtail

Source	Period (yrs)	Years	Plots (n)	Change (%)	Lower limit	Upper limit	Alert	Comment
CBC/BBS UK	35	1967-2002	61	-67	-86	-30	>50
	25	1977-2002	73	-66	-81	-42	>50
	10	1992-2002	138	-38	-60	-27	>25
	5	1997-2002	165	-25	-37	-13	>25
CBC/BBS England	35	1967-2002	60	-66	-83	-31	>50
	25	1977-2002	71	-64	-82	-36	>50
	10	1992-2002	135	-39	-59	-23	>25
	5	1997-2002	160	-26	-40	-11	>25
WBS waterways	27	1975-2002	21	-92	-97	-85	>50
	25	1977-2002	21	-92	-98	-87	>50
	10	1992-2002	17	-79	-89	-66	>50	Small sample
	5	1997-2002	14	-65	-77	-51	>50	Small sample
BBS UK	9	1994-2003	151	-17	-29	-2
BBS England	9	1994-2003	148	-15	-28	0

Table of productivity information for Yellow Wagtail

Variable Period
(yrs) Years Mean
annual
sample Trend Predicted
in first year Predicted
in last year Change Comment

Brood size 34 1968-2002 13 Linear decline 4.84 chicks 4.37 chicks -0.47 chicks Small sample

Insufficient data on clutch size
available for this species

Insufficient data on nest failure
available for this species

Insufficient data on nestling failure
available for this species

Insufficient data on laying date
available for this species

Insufficient data on CES
available for this species


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This report should be cited as: Baillie, S.R., Marchant, J.H., Crick, H.Q.P., Noble, D.G., Balmer, D.E., Beaven, L.P., Coombes, R.H., Downie, I.S., Freeman, S.N., Joys, A.C., Leech, D.I., Raven, M.J., Robinson, R.A. and Thewlis, R.M. (2005) Breeding Birds in the Wider Countryside: their conservation status 2004. BTO Research Report No. 385. BTO, Thetford. (http://www.bto.org/birdtrends) Pages maintained by Susan Waghorn and Iain Downie: Last updated 18 January, 2006