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Species
Motacillidae
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As insectivores, pipits and wagtails affect insect populations throughout their range. They are also hosts to parasitic cuckoos (Cuculidae).
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Source | http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/accounts/Motacillidae/ |
Adult pipits and wagtails have a number of avian predators among the falcons and hawks (Falconiformes) and owls (Strigiformes). Chicks and eggs (and occasionally adults) are also taken by mammals. Common mammalian predators include: weasels (Mustelinae), squirrels (Sciruidae), mice (Rodentia) and house cats (Felis domesticus).
In response to nest predators, incubating females will flush when the predator approaches; if the predator is close to the nest she will feign injury or give other displays to draw it away. Young pipits and wagtails fledge early if the nest is disturbed, this is presumably a response to decrease nest depredation. Foraging in flocks is also thought to be an adaptation to reduce predation. Pipits and female wagtails also have cryptic plumage.
Known Predators:
- falcons and hawks (Falconiformes)
- owls (Strigiformes)
- weasels (Mustelinae)
- squirrels (Sciruidae)
- mice (Rodentia)
- house cats (Felis domesticus)
Anti-predator Adaptations: cryptic
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Rights holder/Author | ©1995-2013, The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors |
Source | http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/accounts/Motacillidae/ |
Pipits and wagtails communicate through song and visual displays. Songs are short and simple in some species and complex and extensive in others.
Communal roosting is thought to facilitate information sharing about the location of food sources.
Communication Channels: visual ; acoustic
Perception Channels: visual ; tactile ; acoustic ; chemical
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Rights holder/Author | ©1995-2013, The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors |
Source | http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/accounts/Motacillidae/ |
Like most small birds, pipits and wagtails probably live on average only two to five years. The longest recorded lifespan is a 9 year, 11 month old white wagtail (Motacilla alba). Average annual adult mortality for Palearctic species is 34 to 65 percent.
- Gill, F. 1995. Ornithology, Second Edition. New York: W.H. Freeman and Company.
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Rights holder/Author | ©1995-2013, The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors |
Source | http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/accounts/Motacillidae/ |
For the most part, pipits and wagtails are monogamous. However, polygyny and extra pair copulations do occur. The birds usually form pairs as soon as they reach their breeding grounds. The same pairs may nest together season to season. Pipits and wagtails are territorial and defend their nest site by singing from perches and performing song flights. Bill raising and wing vibration are also used during displays. In addition, some pipits exhibit courtship feeding.
Mating System: monogamous ; polygynous
Breeding in pipits and wagtails coincides with prey abundance. Nest building takes 4 to 20 days; nests are often placed on the ground, in trees, or in cavities in banks, cliffs, buildings or walls. Nests are usually protected by rocks and vegetation or are placed in a small hole or excavated cavity. They are cup shaped and made of grass, willow, bark, lichen, moss, leaves and twigs. Nests may be lined with grass, fur, feathers and rootlets, and are sometimes held together with mud. Some pipits build domed nests.
Clutch size is usually 4 to 7 for wagtails and 3 to 7 for pipits (usually five). Eggs are 13 to 16 by 17 to 21 mm and are white to light green to dark olive with dark spots. Incubation lasts 10 to 15 days. Only female pipits incubate, although males bring females food while they are on the nest. Both male and female wagtails incubate, but females spend more time on the eggs than males. Hatching is synchronous and the altricial young are brooded for 5 to 6 days. Both adults feed the nestlings and remove fecal sacks. Young are primarily fed insects. Fledging occurs after 12 to 15 days, but the chicks may leave as early as 9 days after hatching if the nest is disturbed. Chicks often leave the nest before they can fly, and they continue to be fed by their parents for 14 to 18 days.
Nest success is 50 to 65 percent. Failure may be caused by depredation or trampling by livestock and game. If the first nest attempt fails, the birds will re-nest. Pipit and wagtail nests are also parasitized by cuckoos (Cuculidae).
Key Reproductive Features: iteroparous ; seasonal breeding ; gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate); sexual ; fertilization (Internal ); oviparous
Female pipits do all of the incubating and brooding of chicks (males help in wagtails). Incubation lasts 10 to 15 days and the altricial chicks are brooded for about 5 to 6 days after hatching. Chicks are fed insects by both parents. Adults also remove fecal sacks from the nests. Chicks leave the nest 12 to 15 days after hatching. Nestlings usually fledge before they can fly and continue to receive parental care for 14 to 18 days.
If a predator approaches an active nest, the adults give alarm calls and will often feign injury to draw the predator away.
Parental Investment: altricial ; male parental care ; female parental care
- Simms, E. 1992. British Larks, Pipits & Wagtails. London: Harper Collins Publishers.
- Ali, S., D. Ripley. 1973. Handbook of the Birds of India and Pakistan, Vol. 9. London: Oxford University Press.
- Bent, A. 1950. Life Histories of North American Wagtails, Shrikes, Vireos, and Their Allies. Washington: United States Government Printing Office.
- Alstrom, P., K. Mild. 2003. Pipits and Wagtails. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
- Campbell, R., N. Dawe, I. McTaggart-Cowan, J. Cooper, G. Kaiser, C. McNall, G. Smith. 1997. The Birds of British Columbia, Volume 3. Vancouver: UBC Press.
- Badyaev, A., P. Hendricks. 2001. Wagtails and Pipits. Pp. 479-484 in C Elphick, J Dunning, D Sibley, eds. The Sibley Guide to Bird Life and Behavior. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.
- Fry, C., D. Pearson, P. Taylor. 1992. Motacillidae, wagtails, pipits and longclaws. Pp. 197-262 in S Keith, E Urban, C Fry, eds. The Birds of Africa, Vol. IV. London: Academic Press.
- Wood, B. 1985. Larks, Wagtails and Pipits. Pp. 336-341 in C Perrins, A Middleton, eds. The Encyclopedia of Birds. New York: Facts on File Publications.
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | ©1995-2013, The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors |
Source | http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/accounts/Motacillidae/ |
Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLD) Stats
Specimen Records:417
Specimens with Sequences:334
Specimens with Barcodes:318
Species:41
Species With Barcodes:31
Public Records:215
Public Species:24
Public BINs:26
Collection Sites: world map showing specimen collection locations for Motacillidae
The IUCN lists no species of pipits or wagtails as critically endangered, two as endangered, three as vulnerable and five as near threatened. Most of the North American species are protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. No pipits or wagtails are listed by CITES or ESA.
The main threats to pipits and wagtails are habitat loss and fragmentation, introduced species and changes in native species dynamics. Some species of pipits and wagtails benefit from increased development and land clearing. However, they become more susceptible to nest predation as edge habitat increases, and they often lose nests to livestock. In addition, while the clearing of forests increases habitat for pipits and wagtails, the draining of wetlands and reversion of farmland to forest decreases habitat. Pipits that breed in the arctic and alpine seem to suffer little from human disturbance. However, climate change is predicted to change tree lines and increase habitat fragmentation, which may have negative effects on pipit populations.
- 2003. "UNEP-WCMC Species Database: CITES-Listed Species" (On-line). Accessed November 14, 2003 at http://www.cites.org/eng/resources/species.html.
- Threatened and Endangered Species System, 2003. "U.S. Listed Vertebrate Animal Species Report by Taoxonomic Group" (On-line). Accessed November 14, 2003 at http://ecos.fws.gov/tess_public/TESSWebpageVipListed?code=V&listings=0#B.
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, date unknown. "Birds Protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act" (On-line). Accessed November 14, 2003 at http://migratorybirds.fws.gov/intrnltr/mbta/mbtintro.html.
- IUCN, 2002. "The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species" (On-line). Accessed November 10, 2003 at http://www.redlist.org/.
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Rights holder/Author | ©1995-2013, The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors |
Source | http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/accounts/Motacillidae/ |
There are no known adverse affects of pipits and wagtails on humans.
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | ©1995-2013, The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors |
Source | http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/accounts/Motacillidae/ |