Grey wagtail (English name: Motacilla cinerea)

Japanese: キセキレイ（英語表記）Motacilla cinerea; grey wagtail

Passerine, Wagtail family. Total length 20cm. Long tail, slender body. Plumage color is white on the brow and cheek lines, gray on the back, black throat of the breeding male, yellow chest and abdomen. The belly and sides are slightly whitish. In winter, the throat of the male is white like the female, and the cheek line is not prominent. Breeds from southern Europe to eastern Russia, China, Kamchatka Peninsula, Japan, etc. It is a resident bird in southern Europe, Central Asia, and Japan south of Honshu, and birds breeding in the north winter in northern and eastern Africa, southern Asia, and Southeast Asia. In Japan, it breeds in Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, Kyushu, and the Tokara Islands, and lives along mountain streams during the breeding season. In spring, it sings a beautiful voice "chichichichi, chichichichichi" (→ chirping). It builds its nest in the hollow of a cliff or under the eaves of a house. In winter, they are seen in farmlands and urban areas. They eat insects, and when on the ground they constantly shake their tail feathers up and down while walking and sometimes flying to catch prey.

Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia About Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia Information

Japanese:

スズメ目セキレイ科。全長 20cm。尾が長く，体形も細長い。羽色は眉斑と頬線が白色，背面が灰色で，繁殖期の雄は喉が黒く，胸腹部が黄色。腹，脇はやや白色がかる。喉は冬季の雄では雌同様に白く，頬線も目立たない。ヨーロッパ南部からロシア東部，中国，カムチャツカ半島，日本などで繁殖する。ヨーロッパ南部や中央アジア，日本の本州以南では留鳥で，北方で繁殖する鳥はアフリカ北部や東部，南アジアから東南アジアに渡って越冬する。日本では北海道，本州，四国地方，九州地方，吐噶喇列島で繁殖し，繁殖期には渓流沿いにすむ。春に「ちちちちっ，ちちちちっ」と美しい声でさえずる（→さえずり）。巣は崖のくぼみや人家の軒下などにつくる。冬季は農耕地や市街地にも姿を見せる。昆虫食で，地上にいるときには絶えず尾羽を上下に振り，歩きながら，ときには飛びながら獲物をとる。

出典　ブリタニカ国際大百科事典小項目事典ブリタニカ国際大百科事典小項目事典について　情報

<<: Gieseking

>>: Pyroxene