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White Wagtail
species of Motacillidae

ad.
ad. male
ad. male
number longest lengths distribution of longest primary smallest individual biggest individual
primary 10 per wing 69.5 - 78.0mm n=12
P7 (75%) P8=P7 (17%) P8 (8%)
1551 1416
secondary 9 per wing 57.0 - 70.5mm n=11
S7 (91%) S6 (9%)
1625 1429
retrix 12
84.3 - 97.5mm n=11
R3=R4 (27%) R3 (27%) R4 (18%) R5 (18%) R2=R6 (9%)
76 1429
wing length1 hand-wing-index1,2 (HWI) primaries-index wing length/longest primary ratio hand-wing-index/primaries-index ratio
75 - 92mm n=27 25 - 34% n=26 25 - 28% n=11 no data available no data available
detailed information

The wing length is measured on the flattened and straightened wing ("maximum chord") from the carpal joint to the tip of the longest primary feather, the so-called "Kleinschmidt-method".

combined data from:
Avonet1: 75 - 92mm n=27

The hand-wing-index, introduced by Kipp 1959, is calculated as the ratio of the hand length (difference between the length of the longest primary and the first secondary) to the wing length.

combined data from:
Avonet1: 25 - 34% n=26,
The primaries-index is calculated as the ratio of the longest primary feather length to the first (outermost) secondary. It is the equivalent of the hand-wing index for feather measurements. The wing length/longest primary ratio is calculated as the ratio of the wing length to the length of the longest primary feather. The hand-wing-index/primaries-index ratio is calculated as the ratio of the hand-wing index to the primaries-index.
1 Tobias, J. A., et al. (2022). AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds.
2 Kipp, Friedrich A.: "Der Handflügel-Index als flugbiologisches Maß", erschienen in "Vogelwarte - Zeitschrift für Vogelkunde", 1959, Band 20, Heft 1



1st cy
ad. female
2nd cy male
ad.
ad. male
juv.
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country allocations

extant

Afghanistan · Albania · Algeria · Andorra · Armenia · Australia (vagrant) · Austria · Azerbaijan · Bahrain · Bangladesh · Belarus · Belgium · Benin · Bhutan · Bosnia and Herzegovina · Brunei Darussalam (vagrant) · Bulgaria · Burkina Faso · Burundi (vagrant) · Cabo Verde · Cambodia · Cameroon · Canada (vagrant) · Central African Republic · Central Asian Russia · Chad · China · Comoros (vagrant) · Congo, The Democratic Republic of the · Croatia · Cyprus · Czechia · Denmark · Djibouti · Eastern Asian Russia · Egypt · Eritrea · Estonia · Ethiopia · European Russia · Faroe Islands · Finland · France · Gabon (vagrant) · Gambia · Georgia · Germany · Ghana · Gibraltar · Greece · Greenland · Guam (origin uncertain) · Guinea · Guinea-Bissau · Hong Kong · Hungary · Iceland · India · Iran, Islamic Republic of · Iraq · Ireland · Israel · Italy · Japan · Jordan · Kazakhstan · Kenya · Korea, Democratic People's Republic of · Korea, Republic of · Kuwait · Kyrgyzstan · Lao People's Democratic Republic · Latvia · Lebanon · Libya · Liechtenstein · Lithuania · Luxembourg · Macao · Malaysia · Mali · Malta · Mauritania · Mexico · Moldova, Republic of · Mongolia · Montenegro · Morocco · Myanmar · Nepal · Netherlands · Niger · Nigeria · North Macedonia · Northern Mariana Islands (vagrant) · Norway · Oman · Pakistan · Palau (vagrant) · Palestine, State of · Philippines · Poland · Portugal · Qatar · Romania · Russian Federation · Rwanda (origin uncertain) · Saint Pierre and Miquelon (vagrant) · San Marino · Saudi Arabia · Senegal · Serbia · Seychelles (vagrant) · Sierra Leone · Singapore · Slovakia · Slovenia · Somalia · South Sudan · Spain · Sri Lanka · Sudan · Svalbard and Jan Mayen · Sweden · Switzerland · Syrian Arab Republic · Tajikistan · Tanzania, United Republic of (vagrant) · Thailand · Togo (vagrant) · Trinidad and Tobago (vagrant) · Tunisia · Türkiye · Turkmenistan · Uganda · Ukraine · United Arab Emirates · United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland · United States of America · Uzbekistan · Viet Nam · Western Sahara · Yemen · Zambia (origin uncertain) · Zimbabwe (origin uncertain) ·
source: IUCN 2025. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2025-1 <www.iucnredlist.org>
assessment data: 137417893 | 2019

Songbirds and kin

subspecies

  • M. a. lugens

distribution

conservation status

  • CITES
    not listed
  • Regulation (EG) Nr. 865/2006
    not listed
  • German Federal Nature Conservation Act §44
    protected