The Display of the Pied Wagtail

The other evening I sat in the sunshine after shutting up the workshop, gazing, thinking about nothing at all really – mellowing.  Suddenly I was aware of a loud, musical twittering and just yards from my feet were a pair of high-spirited Pied Wagtails.

They commenced the most spectacular display, something I’ve never seen before, distinctively intense and dramatic.

After it was over I tried to replay the sequence of it in my mind – wondering if it was usual Wagtail behaviour.   In British Birds, Henry Boase writes perfectly about seeing the same eye-catching event:

‘The courtship of the Pied Wagtail is rather more elaborate than seems usual among the smaller birds.  There is also a grace about its performance which makes it outsanding …..’

You can read the rest of The Display of the Pied Wagtail by Henry Boase here.