Mountain Wagtail

With its slender silhouette and long tail, the Mountain Wagtail fits very well with the idea of a Motacillid. Its tail is slightly longer than that of other species of the genus Motacilla. Its silhouette is reminiscent of the Pied Wagtail. There is no sexual dimorphism. Three colors dominate the plumage, gray, white and black, a bit like our Grey Wagtail. The upper parts are entirely gray from the beak to the tail, with the shade varying according to the subspecies. The wings are black, with the large coverts and especially the tertiary remiges largely bordered in white. The gray head shows a narrow and clear white eyebrow highlighted by the almost black lores stretching a little behind the eye. The black eye is surrounded by white, the upper crescent blending with the eyebrow. The especially long and thin beak is black. The tail is two-tone with the 3 central rectrices mainly black and the 3 outer rectrices completely white. The lower parts are very light. The only truly white parts are the throat and the top of the chest. The latter has a narrow, full black collar in its middle. The rest of the underside is white to grayish, especially on the sides of the chest and the flanks. The legs are black. The 3 subspecies differ little from each other. Compared to the type subspecies: M. c. torrentium has shorter wings, a proportionally longer tail, and wider white borders on the wings; M. c. chapini has darker upper parts. The juvenile looks like an adult, except that it does not have a black collar on the chest.