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Species › Birds

White Wagtail

Motacilla alba

Order
Passeriformes
Family
Motacillidae
Presence in the Strait
Resident
Abundance
abundant
Protection in Spain
Special protection (List)
In Spanish
Lavandera blanca

Photograph: Kim, CC BY, vía iNaturalist

Length
18 cm
Weight
21 g
01020LENGTH18 cmcentimetres

Presence in the Strait

Abundant resident (larger numbers wintering) of open areas and rivers. Expanding from the Eastern area. The first breeding record for the province of Cadiz was on 7.06.77 at the Almodovar Reservoir (Tarifa). The next breeding record was at Interquisa (San Roque) in 1993; since then the number of pairs (<20) and locations has been increasing.

Identification

Black and white, with a long tail that it wags up and down and black legs. Black crown and nape, grey mantle and black tail with white outer tail feathers. In winter plumage, black breastband and white throat, ear coverts and forehead with possible yellowish traces. Black throat in summer plumage. Females similar to males but some black only on crown. Juveniles show no black on their heads.

Movements

Postnuptial migration is more conspicuous with peaks in 2st hf. October; prenuptial migration in 1st hf. February. Birds from outside the Iberian Peninsula peak in March and November.

Ring recoveries

Belgium (24), Germany (22), Holland (3), Switzerland (3), France (2), Iceland (2), Denmark (1), Czech Republic (1) and Sweden (1). Two controls from the United Kingdom in the province of Cádiz that belong to the British subspecies M. a. yarrellii, that has a black back and rump.

Bioestrecho editorial text. Last revised: 8 September 2026.

Gallery

Photographs from iNaturalist observations with the licence checked file by file. Those marked “Strait” were taken within the area; place and date are those of each observation.