Wag the Tail

The grey wagtail loves rocky streams, weirs and pebbled margins — where it forages on the ground in quick, darting runs. With that long tail pumping up and down, the restless bobbing that gives every wagtail its name. Across most of India it is a winter visitor, dropping down from the hills to spend the cold months beside our streams.

Don’t let the name mislead you — the grey wagtail’s grey is only half the story. The back and crown are a soft slate grey, but the underparts run to a clean lemon yellow, brightest beneath the tail, set off by a pale line over the eye and a whitish throat. It is the longest-tailed of our wagtails, and it carries it like a banner.

This one had the morning to itself, perched on a sun-warmed rock — grey back to the light, yellow breast glowing, long tail ticking behind it.