Eastern yellow wagtail

Eastern yellow wagtail
Male, Kamchatka, Russia
Female, Northumberland, UK
Scientific classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Motacillidae
Genus: Motacilla
Species:
M. tschutschensis
Binomial name
Motacilla tschutschensis
Subspecies

four; see text

The eastern yellow wagtail (Motacilla tschutschensis) is a small passerine in the wagtail family Motacillidae, which also includes the pipits and longclaws. It was formerly usually classified as a subspecies of the western yellow wagtail, but was split from it in 2003 when genetic data showed this classification to be paraphyletic with respect to citrine wagtail. It breeds in the eastern Palearctic and Alaska and migrates to South Asia and Australia.