Eastern Yellow Wagtail
(Motacilla tschutschensis)

Overview

Summary

© Glen Tepke (www.pbase.com/gtepke)
For additional photos and vocalizations, visit Dendroica. (Link opens in a new window.)

The Eastern Yellow Wagtail is rare in Canada, found only on the Yukon's North Slope and occasionally in the Mackenzie River delta in the Northwest Territories. Population trends for the species in Canada remain unknown. Its small population size and restricted range potentially place it at risk, but it faces no known threats in Canada. It is most common in Alaska, where populations are considered secure. This species has been identified as a priority for conservation and/or stewardship in one or more Bird Conservation Region Strategies in Canada.

Designations

Population status

Population estimate

Distribution maps

• BirdLife International / NatureServe

Migration strategy, occurrence

Responsibility for conservation

Conservation and management

The species is considered to be at a high risk of extirpation in Canada because of its small Canadian population and limited Canadian distribution (CESCC 2016), which is essentially confined to the Yukon's North Slope, including important habitat in Ivvavik National Park. However, no significant threats have been documented within its remote and restricted range. The winter range for this species remains poorly known (Badyaev et al. 1998), thus threats throughout the year are difficult to assess.

Bird conservation region strategies

Environment and Climate Change Canada and partners have developed Bird Conservation Region Strategies in each of Canada’s Bird Conservation Regions (BCRs). In these strategies, selected species are identified as priorities for one or more of the following reasons:

• conservation concerns (i.e., species vulnerable due to population size, distribution, population trend, abundance, or threats)
• stewardship responsibilities (i.e., species that typify the regional avifauna or have a large proportion of their range or population in the sub-region)
• management concerns (i.e., species that require ongoing management because of their socio-economic importance as game species, or because of their impacts on other species or habitats)
• other concerns (i.e., species deemed a priority by regional experts for other reasons than those listed above or because they are listed as species at risk or concern at the provincial level)

Select any of the sub-regions below to view the BCR strategy for additional details.

References

• Badyaev, A.V., B. Kessel and D.D. Gibson. 1998. Yellow Wagtail (Motacilla tschutschensis), The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. Badyaev, A.V., B. Kessel and D.D. Gibson. 1998. Yellow Wagtail (Motacilla tschutschensis), The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. (Link)
• Canadian Endangered Species Conservation Council (CESCC). 2016. Canadian Endangered Species Conservation Wild Species 2015: The General Status of Species in Canada. National General Status Working Group.128 pp. Canadian Endangered Species Conservation Council (CESCC). 2016. Canadian Endangered Species Conservation Wild Species 2015: The General Status of Species in Canada. National General Status Working Group.128 pp. (Link)
• Fraker, M.A. and R.N. Fraker. 1980. Yellow Wagtail east of the MacKenzie Delta. Canadian Field-Naturlist 94:465-466.
• Salter, R.E., M.A. Gollop, S.R. Johnson, W.R. Koski, and C.E. Tull. 1980. Distribution and abundance of birds on the arctic coastal plain of northern Yukon and adjacent Northwest Territories, 1971-1976. Canadian Field-Naturalist 94:219-238.
• Sinclair, P.H., W.A. Nixon, C.D. Eckert and N. L. Hughes. 2003. Birds of the Yukon Territory. University of British Columbia Press, Vancouver, British Columbia. 644 pp.