- yellow wagtail
- Wagtail Wag"tail`, n. (Zo["o]l.)
Any one of many species of Old World singing birds belonging
to {Motacilla} and several allied genera of the family
{Motacillid[ae]}. They have the habit of constantly jerking
their long tails up and down, whence the name.
[1913 Webster]
{Field wagtail}, any one of several species of wagtails of the genus {Budytes} having the tail shorter, the legs longer, and the hind claw longer and straighter, than do the water wagtails. Most of the species are yellow beneath. Called also {yellow wagtail}.
{Garden wagtail}, the Indian black-breasted wagtail ({Nemoricola Indica}).
{Pied wagtail}, the common European water wagtail ({Motacilla lugubris}). It is variegated with black and white. The name is applied also to other allied species having similar colors. Called also {pied dishwasher}.
{Wagtail flycatcher}, a true flycatcher ({Sauloprocta motacilloides}) common in Southern Australia, where it is very tame, and frequents stock yards and gardens and often builds its nest about houses; -- called also {black fantail}.
{Water wagtail}. (a) Any one of several species of wagtails of the restricted genus {Motacilla}. They live chiefly on the shores of ponds and streams. (b) The American water thrush. See {Water thrush}.
{Wood wagtail}, an Asiatic wagtail; ({Calobates sulphurea}) having a slender bill and short legs. [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.
