The White-browed Wagtail is a large wagtail at 21cm. This is a slender bird, with the characteristic long, constantly wagging tail of its genus. It has black upperparts, head and breast, with a white supercilium and large white wingbar. The rest of the underparts are white. The female has the black coloration less glossy than in the male. Juveniles are brown-grey where the adult is black.
Behaviour and ecology
Usually seen in pairs or small groups near open water. They call often especially in the mornings[19] and are active like most other wagtails. They will perch on the ground as well as on wires or on buildings. The song is long and loud with many different notes. The usual call is a wheezy “wheech”.They can fly fairly rapidly for long distances and they fly with a bounding (dipping and rising) flight pattern and have been recorded to travel at the speed of about 40 km/h.
Breeding
The breeding season is March to October. In southern India, the nesting season begins when river levels drop and continue until the Monsoon rains. In courtship, the male shoots into the air with a single wing beat, sings and glides with dangling legs and puffed feathers. On settling, the tail of the male is raised high and wings held up over the back and the tip is quivered stiffly while he steps around the female.
Food
Like other wagtails, this species is insectivorous. Nestlings were mainly fed orthopterans, caterpillars and spiders. Stayphylinid beetles and pentatomid bugs have also been recorded in their diet.[26] In captivity they have been recorded feeding on annelids.They have adapted to urban environments where water may be found mainly on rooftops as overflow from storage tanks.
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