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A Yellow-feathered Feathursday

Today we bring you all the yellow-feathered birds illustrated in hand-colored wood engravings by British author and wood engraver Eric Fitch Daglish (1892-1966) from his 1948 publication Birds of the British Isles, published in London by J. M. Dent & Sons in 1948 in a limited edition of 1500 copies. From top to bottom:

Birds of the British Isles is a donation from our friend, Wisconsin wood engraver Tony Drehfal.

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A Wagtail Feathursday

This week we highlight some Wagtails in the genus Motacilla. The only wagtails found in North America are subspecies of the Eurasian Yellow and White Wagtails that have established a foothold in far western Alaska. Therefore we turn to the three species of wagtail most commonly found in Europe:

  1. White Wagtail (Motacilla alba). A black and white bird, a subspecies of which, the Pied Wagtail, most commonly found in Britain, is shown here.
  2. Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea). A grey-headed bird with yellow rump and underparts.
  3. Yellow Wagtail (Motacilla flava). A bird with bright yellow underparts from chin to rear.

All of these birds have long dark tails with white outer bars. Their common name derives from their most conspicuous feature, their constantly wagging tails. Another common feature is that they all prefer habitats with running water, although the White Wagtail, especially the Pied subspecies in England, have accommodated themselves to urban environments and often can be found feeding on insects on lawns, playing fields, parking lots, and flat roofs.

Our featured wagtails come from reproductions of paintings in our folio volume Birds, The Paintings of Terance James Bond, by British bird artist Terance James Bond, published in Cambridge, England, by the Lutterworth Press in 1988.

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