Any one of many species of Old World singing birds belonging toMotacilla and several allied genera of the family Motacillidæ. Theyhave the habit of constantly jerking their long tails up and down,whence the name. Field wagtail, any one of several species ofwagtails of the genus Budytes having the tail shorter, the legslonger, and the hind claw longer and straighter, than do the waterwagtails. Most of the species are yellow beneath. Called also yellowwagtail.-- Garden wagtail, the Indian black-breasted wagtail (NemoricolaIndica).-- Pied wagtail, the common European water wagtail (Motacillalugubris). It is variegated with black and white. The name is appliedalso to other allied species having similar colors. Called also pieddishwasher.-- Wagtail flycatcher, a true flycatcher (Sauloprocta motacilloides)common in Southern Australia, where it is very tame, and frequentsstock 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 therestricted genus Motacilla. They live chiefly on the shores of pondsand streams. (b) The American water thrush. See Water thrush.-- Wood wagtail, an Asiatic wagtail; (Calobates sulphurea) having aslender bill and short legs.

]]>https://definedictionarymeaning.com/topic/7316/wagtailRSS for NodeFri, 12 Jun 2026 21:56:52 GMTTue, 21 Mar 2017 19:02:59 GMT60Extremely versatile in manner.

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