[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":253},["ShallowReactive",2],{"families_en:\u002Fsemeystva\u002Ftryasoguzkovye":3,"alt-locale:families_en:\u002Fsemeystva\u002Ftryasoguzkovye":108,"section-listing:families_en:\u002Fsemeystva":109,"section-listing:disabled":246,"related-covers:en:\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fzhavoronkovye|\u002Fsemeystva|\u002Fopredelitel":247},{"id":4,"title":5,"body":6,"coverImage":68,"description":69,"extension":70,"faq":71,"imagePrompt":81,"latinName":20,"meta":82,"navigation":83,"order":84,"pageType":85,"path":86,"publishedAt":87,"readingMinutes":88,"relatedLinks":89,"seo":102,"sitemap":105,"stem":106,"taxonRank":85,"updatedAt":84,"__hash__":107},"families_en\u002Fsemeystva\u002Ftryasoguzkovye.md","Wagtails and Pipits (Motacillidae)",{"type":7,"value":8,"toc":60},"minimark",[9,14,22,25,29,32,35,39,53,57],[10,11,13],"h2",{"id":12},"what-makes-motacillidae-a-family","What makes Motacillidae a family",[15,16,17,21],"p",{},[18,19,20],"strong",{},"Motacillidae",", the wagtail and pipit family, comprises around 65 species of slender, ground-adapted songbirds found across open habitats worldwide. Members share a body built for near-constant walking and running rather than hopping, unusually long legs and tail relative to overall body size, and a diet centered heavily on insects and other small invertebrates gleaned or snapped up from open ground, riverbanks, and other largely unvegetated or short-vegetation surfaces.",[15,23,24],{},"The family's defining and most easily observed behavioral trait is a near-continuous up-and-down wagging or pumping motion of the tail while the bird is on the ground, a habit shared to varying degrees by both the boldly patterned wagtails and the more subdued, streaky-brown pipits, though the movement is most pronounced and most familiar to casual observers in the white wagtail and its close relatives.",[10,26,28],{"id":27},"distinctive-traits-across-the-family","Distinctive traits across the family",[15,30,31],{},"Wagtails and pipits, though united within the same family, present two somewhat different visual impressions: wagtails typically show bold, high-contrast plumage — black, white, grey, or yellow in various combinations — paired with a particularly long and actively wagged tail, while pipits are generally more streaked and uniformly brown, closer in overall appearance to larks, reflecting a more camouflage-oriented strategy suited to open grassland and similar habitats where wagtails' bolder patterning would be less advantageous.",[15,33,34],{},"Habitat flexibility is a notable strength across much of the family, and several species, including the white wagtail, have proven remarkably capable of exploiting open, human-modified surfaces such as paved areas, rooftops, and urban parks, functionally standing in for the open riverbanks, short grassland, and bare ground the family relies on in more natural settings.",[10,36,38],{"id":37},"species-in-this-family","Species in this family",[15,40,41,42,47,48,52],{},"This atlas currently covers one member of Motacillidae: the ",[43,44,46],"a",{"href":45},"\u002Fen\u002Fvidy-ptic\u002Fvidy\u002Fbelaya-tryasoguzka","white wagtail"," (",[49,50,51],"em",{},"Motacilla alba","), a slender, black-and-white bird known for its constantly bobbing tail and its striking large communal winter roosts, sometimes formed directly in busy town centers. Further Motacillidae species, including pipits, native to the atlas's covered regions will be added to the catalogue over time.",[10,54,56],{"id":55},"where-and-when-to-watch-this-family","Where and when to watch this family",[15,58,59],{},"Open ground of almost any kind — riverbanks, farmland, parks, car parks, and rooftops — offers a reasonable chance of encountering a member of this family, and the group's tolerance for human-altered landscapes means sightings are not restricted to remote or particularly wild habitat. Communal winter roosting behavior, most dramatically documented in the white wagtail, can make late autumn and winter an especially interesting time to observe this family in unexpectedly large numbers at a single urban or suburban site.",{"title":61,"searchDepth":62,"depth":62,"links":63},"",2,[64,65,66,67],{"id":12,"depth":62,"text":13},{"id":27,"depth":62,"text":28},{"id":37,"depth":62,"text":38},{"id":55,"depth":62,"text":56},"\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Ftryasoguzkovye.png","A family of slender, long-tailed, ground-foraging songbirds best exemplified by the constantly tail-bobbing white wagtail, equally at home beside a river or in a busy town square.","md",[72,75,78],{"q":73,"a":74},"What unites wagtails and pipits as a single family?","Motacillidae species share a slender body, notably long tail and legs relative to body size, and a life history built around ground foraging in open habitats, typically walking or running rather than hopping. Both wagtails and pipits also share a broadly similar habit of frequently wagging or pumping the tail while on the ground, though the behavior is most pronounced and best known in the wagtails.",{"q":76,"a":77},"How do wagtails differ from pipits within this family?","Wagtails, exemplified by the white wagtail, are generally more boldly and contrastingly patterned, often in black, white, and grey or yellow, with an especially long, actively wagged tail, while pipits tend to be more uniformly streaked brown overall, closer in general appearance to larks, and somewhat less flamboyant in both plumage and tail movement, though both groups share the family's characteristic ground-based lifestyle.",{"q":79,"a":80},"Why is this family so often seen in open, human-altered spaces like car parks and rooftops?","As ground-foraging insect specialists adapted to open terrain, several Motacillidae species — the white wagtail in particular — have proven unusually able to exploit hard, open surfaces created by human development, from paved car parks to flat rooftops, which functionally resemble the open riverbanks and short-grass habitats the family originally evolved to exploit.","Photorealistic wildlife photography, a white wagtail running across wet riverside gravel with its long tail raised mid-stride, black-and-white head and bib pattern, pale grey back, sharp focus on the eye, soft-focus background of a shallow river with smooth stones and gentle ripples, bright soft daylight, shallow depth of field, telephoto lens compression, 16:9",{},true,null,"family","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Ftryasoguzkovye","13.07.2026",1,[90,94,98],{"label":91,"path":92,"description":93},"Larks (Alaudidae)","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fzhavoronkovye","Another ground-adapted, open-country songbird family",{"label":95,"path":96,"description":97},"Bird families","\u002Fsemeystva","Species grouped by taxonomic family",{"label":99,"path":100,"description":101},"Bird identifier","\u002Fopredelitel","Identify a bird you've seen by color, size, beak shape, habitat, and season",{"title":103,"description":104},"Wagtails and Pipits (Motacillidae) — traits and species","Motacillidae: slender, long-tailed, ground-foraging songbirds exemplified by the tail-bobbing white wagtail. Traits, species, and where to find them.",{"loc":86},"semeystva\u002Ftryasoguzkovye","F-TOxkdRanCxEMCfJNhMv9iWElPrfWwfQ8DkS7Q7dOg",{"ru":83,"es":83},[110,115,120,125,130,135,141,146,151,156,161,164,169,174,179,184,189,195,200,205,210,215,220,225,230,235,236,241],{"title":111,"description":112,"path":113,"coverImage":114,"publishedAt":87,"order":84},"Buntings (Emberizidae)","The bunting family: sturdy, seed-eating farmland and open-country songbirds represented here by the vividly yellow-headed yellowhammer, one of Europe's most familiar hedgerow singers.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fovsyankovye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fovsyankovye.png",{"title":116,"description":117,"path":118,"coverImage":119,"publishedAt":87,"order":84},"Crows, Ravens, and Allies (Corvidae)","The crow family: some of the most intelligent birds on Earth, from the tiny, sociable jackdaw to the giant common raven, united by cognitive sophistication and remarkable behavioral flexibility.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fvranovye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fvranovye.png",{"title":121,"description":122,"path":123,"coverImage":124,"publishedAt":87,"order":84},"Cuckoos (Cuculidae)","The cuckoo family: slender, long-tailed birds best known for the common cuckoo's remarkable brood-parasitic lifestyle, tricking other species into raising its young.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fkukushkovye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fkukushkovye.png",{"title":126,"description":127,"path":128,"coverImage":129,"publishedAt":87,"order":84},"Falcons (Falconidae)","The falcon family: fast, direct-flying birds of prey with a distinctive hooked, tomial-toothed beak, found on every continent except Antarctica.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fsokolinye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fsokolinye.png",{"title":131,"description":132,"path":133,"coverImage":134,"publishedAt":87,"order":84},"Finches (Fringillidae)","The true finch family: small, seed-eating songbirds with conical beaks ranging from the everyday chaffinch to the specialized, cone-prying red crossbill.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fvjurkovye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fvjurkovye.png",{"title":136,"description":137,"path":138,"coverImage":139,"publishedAt":140,"order":84},"Grebes (Podicipedidae)","The grebe family: highly specialized freshwater diving birds with lobed toes, elaborate courtship displays, and chicks that ride on their parents' backs while swimming.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fpogankovye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fpogankovye.png","07.08.2026",{"title":142,"description":143,"path":144,"coverImage":145,"publishedAt":87,"order":84},"Gulls (Laridae)","The gull family: adaptable, highly social waterbirds ranging from the small, brown-hooded black-headed gull to the larger, plain-billed common gull, equally at home on coasts and inland waters.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fchaykovye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fchaykovye.png",{"title":147,"description":148,"path":149,"coverImage":150,"publishedAt":87,"order":84},"Hawks, Eagles, and Kites (Accipitridae)","The largest family of diurnal birds of prey, spanning soaring buzzards, forest-hunting goshawks, massive fish eagles, and scavenging kites united by a hooked beak and taloned feet.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fyastrebinye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fyastrebinye.png",{"title":152,"description":153,"path":154,"coverImage":155,"publishedAt":87,"order":84},"Herons (Ardeidae)","The heron family: patient, statuesque wetland hunters with a coiled S-shaped neck and dagger-like bill, epitomized by the grey heron's motionless watch at the water's edge.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Ftsaplevye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Ftsaplevye.png",{"title":157,"description":158,"path":159,"coverImage":160,"publishedAt":87,"order":84},"Hoopoes (Upupidae)","A small family built around a single unmistakable species, the Eurasian hoopoe, known for its fan-like crest, curved probing beak, and unusual glandular nest defenses.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fudodovye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fudodovye.png",{"title":91,"description":162,"path":92,"coverImage":163,"publishedAt":87,"order":84},"The lark family: streaked, ground-nesting birds of open farmland and grassland, best known for the extraordinary sustained soaring song-flight of the Eurasian skylark.","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fzhavoronkovye.png",{"title":165,"description":166,"path":167,"coverImage":168,"publishedAt":87,"order":84},"Old World Flycatchers and Chats (Muscicapidae)","A family spanning the beloved orange-breasted robin, the vocally legendary nightingale, and the acrobatic pied flycatcher, unified more by ancestry and insect-catching habits than by appearance.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fmuholovkovye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fmuholovkovye.png",{"title":170,"description":171,"path":172,"coverImage":173,"publishedAt":87,"order":84},"Old World Orioles (Oriolidae)","A family of brilliantly colored but famously shy canopy songbirds, represented in Europe by the golden oriole, a bird more often identified by its fluting song than by sight.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fivolgovye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fivolgovye.png",{"title":175,"description":176,"path":177,"coverImage":178,"publishedAt":87,"order":84},"Old World Sparrows (Passeridae)","The Old World sparrow family: small, sociable, seed-eating birds closely tied to human settlement, from the familiar house sparrow to its quieter, farmland-favoring relative the tree sparrow.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fvorobyinye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fvorobyinye.png",{"title":180,"description":181,"path":182,"coverImage":183,"publishedAt":87,"order":84},"Pigeons and Doves (Columbidae)","The pigeon family: stout-bodied, small-headed birds fed on crop milk as chicks, spanning the city-adapted rock dove and wood pigeon to the increasingly rare, long-distance migrant turtle dove.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fgolubinye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fgolubinye.png",{"title":185,"description":186,"path":187,"coverImage":188,"publishedAt":87,"order":84},"Plovers and Lapwings (Charadriidae)","The plover family: compact, large-eyed waders with short bills adapted for visual foraging, from the crested, iridescent northern lapwing to its smaller and plainer relatives.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Frzhankovye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Frzhankovye.png",{"title":190,"description":191,"path":192,"coverImage":193,"publishedAt":194,"order":84},"Rails, Crakes, and Coots (Rallidae)","The rail family: laterally flattened marsh specialists built for slipping through dense reed beds, ranging from the secretive corncrake to the bold, aggressive Eurasian coot.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fpastushkovye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fpastushkovye.png","17.08.2026",{"title":196,"description":197,"path":198,"coverImage":199,"publishedAt":87,"order":84},"Starlings (Sturnidae)","The starling family: gregarious, iridescent, highly vocal songbirds represented in Europe by the common starling and its spectacular winter murmurations.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fskvorcovye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fskvorcovye.png",{"title":201,"description":202,"path":203,"coverImage":204,"publishedAt":87,"order":84},"Storks (Ciconiidae)","The stork family: massive, long-legged wading birds with long straight bills, epitomized by the white stork's huge rooftop nests and dramatic overland migration to Africa.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Faistovye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Faistovye.png",{"title":206,"description":207,"path":208,"coverImage":209,"publishedAt":87,"order":84},"Swallows and Martins (Hirundinidae)","The swallow family: sleek, long-winged aerial insect-hunters that spend most of their waking lives on the wing, from the red-throated barn swallow to the white-rumped house martin.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Flastochkovye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Flastochkovye.png",{"title":211,"description":212,"path":213,"coverImage":214,"publishedAt":87,"order":84},"Swifts (Apodidae)","The swift family: extreme aerial specialists that spend nearly their entire lives in flight, closer in ancestry to hummingbirds than to the swallows they superficially resemble.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fstrizhinye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fstrizhinye.png",{"title":216,"description":217,"path":218,"coverImage":219,"publishedAt":87,"order":84},"Sylvia Warblers (Sylviidae)","A family of small, plainly plumaged, densely-vegetation-loving warblers prized far more for their voices than their looks, exemplified by the richly singing Eurasian blackcap.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fslavkovye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fslavkovye.png",{"title":221,"description":222,"path":223,"coverImage":224,"publishedAt":87,"order":84},"Thrushes (Turdidae)","The thrush family: medium-sized, powerful-singing ground foragers, from the glossy black common blackbird to the heavily spotted song thrush and the gregarious, flocking fieldfare.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fdrozdovye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fdrozdovye.png",{"title":226,"description":227,"path":228,"coverImage":229,"publishedAt":87,"order":84},"Tits (Paridae)","The tit family: small, acrobatic, cavity-nesting songbirds from the bold, dominant great tit to the tiny, cache-obsessed coal tit, among the most familiar and intensively studied garden birds in Europe.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fsinitsevye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fsinitsevye.png",{"title":231,"description":232,"path":233,"coverImage":234,"publishedAt":87,"order":84},"Typical Owls (Strigidae)","The largest owl family, spanning the familiar tawny owl, tufted long-eared owl, and the giant Eurasian eagle-owl, united by forward-facing eyes, silent flight, and mostly nocturnal habits.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fsovinye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fsovinye.png",{"title":5,"description":69,"path":86,"coverImage":68,"publishedAt":87,"order":84},{"title":237,"description":238,"path":239,"coverImage":240,"publishedAt":87,"order":84},"Waterfowl (Anatidae)","The waterfowl family: ducks, geese, and swans, unified by webbed feet, waterproof plumage, and a broad flattened bill, from the familiar mallard to the massive mute swan.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Futinye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Futinye.png",{"title":242,"description":243,"path":244,"coverImage":245,"publishedAt":87,"order":84},"Woodpeckers (Picidae)","The woodpecker family: powerful, tree-climbing excavators built to hammer into wood, from the widespread black-and-white great spotted woodpecker to the crow-sized black woodpecker.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fdyatlovye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fdyatlovye.png",[],[248,249,251],{"label":91,"path":92,"description":93,"coverImage":163},{"label":95,"path":96,"description":97,"coverImage":250},"\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Findex.png",{"label":99,"path":100,"description":101,"coverImage":252},"\u002Fimages\u002Fopredelitel\u002Findex.png",1787114562257]