Yellow Wagtail

Listen to example recordings of the main vocalisations of Yellow Wagtail, provided by xeno-canto contributors.

This species can be found on the following statutory and conservation listings and schedules.

UK Birds of Conservation Concern	Red listed
Species of European Conservation Concern	Least Concern
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (global)	Least Concern
Schedule 1 license required (to disturb)	No
Birds Directive Annex 1	No
Listed on the Annexes of	Bern(III), NERC (41)

Britain holds almost the entire world population of the distinctive race flavissima, so population changes in the UK are of global conservation significance. Yellow Wagtails have been in rapid decline since the early 1980s, according to CBC/BBS and especially WBS/WBBS and, after a shift from the green to the amber list in 2002, the species was moved to the red list in 2009 (Eaton et al. 2009). Gibbons et al. (1993) identified a range contraction towards a core area in central England, concurrent with the early years of decline. Further range contraction has occurred extensively since then, especially in the west and south and in parts of East Anglia (Balmer et al. 2013). The European trend, which comprises several races of the species, has shown a decline since 1980 (PECBMS: PECBMS 2020a>).

UK breeding population

-74% decrease (1967–2022)

The majority of the UK's Yellow Wagtails now breed in England, with none breeding in Ireland and only a few squares occupied in Wales and Scotland during 2008–11. Densities are highest in East Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, the Fens, Broadland and the Essex and Kent coastal marshes.

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Occupied 10-km squares in UK

No. occupied in breeding season	785
% occupied in breeding season	26
No. occupied in winter	11
% occupied in winter	0.4

European Distribution Map

European Breeding Bird Atlas 2

Breeding Season Habitats

Most frequent in	Arable Farmland, Estuaries
Also common in	Along Streams

Relative frequency by habitat

Relative occurrence in different habitat types during the breeding season.

Breeding Yellow Wagtails have been lost from many parts of southern England, northwest England, Wales, the Scottish Borders and the Central Belt. In the remaining range relative abundance has decreased with only East Lincolnshire and East Yorkshire showing signs of growth.

Yellow Wagtail is a localised summer migrant, arriving in April; can be seen more widely during autumn passage, often at wetlands, but most have departed by October.

View a summary of recoveries in the Online Ringing Report.

Foreign locations of birds ringed or recovered in Britain & Ireland

View number ringed each year in the Online Ringing Report

Maximum Age from Ringing	7 years 1 months 14 days (set in 1982)
Typical Lifespan	3 years with breeding typically at 1 year
Adult Survival	0.533±0.031
Juvenile Survival	0.463 (in first year)

Wing Length	Adults	81.6±3 | Range 76–86mm, N=295
	Juveniles	81.2±2.6 | Range 77-85mm, N=999
	Males	82.8±2.5 | Range 79–86mm, N=176
	Females	79.3±2.8 | Range 75–84mm, N=82

Body Weight	Adults	17.6±1.7 | Range 15.3–20.4g, N=270
	Juveniles	17.9±1.7 | Range 15.5–21.0g, N=869
	Males	17.7±1.5 | Range 15.5–19.9g, N=159
	Females	16.9±1.8 | Range 15.0–21.3g, N=77

Feather measurements and photos on featherbase

Ring size	A
Field Codes	2-letter: YW | 5-letter code: YELWA | Euring: 10170

For information in another language (where available) click on a linked name

Causes of change

Agricultural intensification is the ultimate cause of population declines. However, the mechanisms underlying the decline remain unclear.

Further information on causes of change

Changes in agricultural practices have been proposed as the main reason for declines via their impact on the quality of foraging and breeding habitats. The magnitude of Yellow Wagtail decline appears to vary between habitats, being strongest in wet grassland and marginal upland areas (Henderson et al. 2004, Wilson & Vickery 2005). Chamberlain & Fuller (2000, 2001) found that there were greater range contractions in regions dominated by pastoral agriculture. The decline in pastoral habitats has been proposed to be due to agricultural intensification, specifically farmland drainage, the conversion of pasture to arable land, changes in grazing and cutting regimes, the loss of insects associated with cattle and changes to grassland ecosystems in marginal upland areas (Gibbons et al. 1993, Chamberlain & Fuller 2000, 2001, Flyckt 1999, Vickery et al. 2001, Nelson et al. 2003, Bradbury & Bradter 2004, Henderson et al. 2004). Such changes are likely to have reduced the quality of grasslands as a nesting and foraging habitat.

Data from eastern England suggest a strong avoidance of grassland and preference for spring-sown crops (Mason & Macdonald 2000), though breeding can also be successful in landscapes dominated by winter cereals (Kirby et al. 2012). A detailed autecological study by Gilroy et al. (2008) provides good evidence that, on arable land, soil penetrability had a significant influence on the abundance of Yellow Wagtails, together with crop type and soil type, as these influenced invertebrate capture rates. There was a strong relationship between Yellow Wagtails and soil penetrability, suggesting a potential causative link between soil degradation and population decline (Gilroy et al. 2008). Breeding-season length may also be limited in cereal-dominated areas, as Yellow Wagtails avoid autumn-sown cereals late in the season (Gilroy et al. 2009, 2010). Predation was also considered and it was found that predation rate was closer nearer to tramlines and field-edges (Morris & Gilroy 2008). It is uncertain how important nest predation in tramlines is as a limiting factor for Yellow Wagtail populations but no studies have reported predation as a major driver of population decline for this species. Work carried out by Benton et al. (2002) showed that, in Scotland, arthropod abundance was significantly related to agricultural change and that this was also linked to measures of farmland bird density. Although Yellow Wagtail does not breed on Scottish farmland, it is an obligate insectivore, so this evidence adds support to the hypothesis that reduced food availability due to agricultural change may have contributed to the declines in this species.

Yellow Wagtails are long-distance migrants, moving to wintering grounds in western Africa south of the Sahara. Factors relating to conditions on the wintering grounds may also play a role (Bradbury & Bradter 2004, Heldbjerg & Fox 2008, Stevens et al. 2010) but evidence for this is lacking.

Information about conservation actions

The decline of the Yellow Wagtail since the 1980s is believed to be driven by agricultural intensification and resultant habitat changes, although the exact mechanism behind the decline is unclear and therefore specific evidence-based conservation actions to reverse the decline are limited. However, there is good knowledge about breeding habitat preferences.

The research suggests that changes to cattle farming and associated grassland may have reduced quality and food availability; hence actions which enable low intensity pastoral farming may benefit Yellow Wagtails, including a reduction in the use of fertilisers, herbicides and pesticides to provide more diverse semi-natural grasslands. A detailed study of Yellow Wagtail breeding ecology by Bradbury and Bradter (2004) provided good evidence of the species' breeding requirements on grassland. Territories were associated with a greater proportion of bare earth in the sward, the presence of shallow-edged ponds or wet ditches in the field, and a greater probability of a prolonged winter/spring flood, although the relative importance of these and how they impact on demographic processes was indecipherable.

Where Yellow Wagtails nest in arable fields, providing spring sown crops may help improve breeding productivity by extending the breeding season (Mason & McDonald 2000). Alternatively, providing a mosaic of crops may enable Yellow Wagtails to raise early broods in autumn sown cereal fields but switch to other crops (e.g. potatoes) for later broods (Gilroy et al. 2010).