Eastern Yellow Wagtail

The eastern yellow wagtail is a slender wagtail, 15–16cm long, with the long, constantly wagging tail of its genus. The breeding male is olive-green above and yellow below, and the head pattern varies by subspecies; in other plumages the yellow may be diluted by white. The bill and legs are black. Its long, fairly straight hind claw separates it reliably from the western yellow wagtail, though this is hard to see in grass, and its call, a high zrri or jeet, is shriller and more rasping (Wikipedia, general species account).

It breeds in the eastern Palearctic and in Alaska, and most birds migrate to South-east Asia and Australia for the winter, though the wintering range reaches west to eastern India and Sri Lanka. It was split from the western yellow wagtail in 2003 when genetic work showed the old grouping was unnatural. Four subspecies are recognised. SoIB 2023 lists it as a winter migrant in India but gives no trend or priority (Wikipedia, general species account; SoIB 2023).