First Citrine Wagtail spotted in Malta

The Citrine Wagtail, also known as a Yellow-headed Wagtail, is a small, slender songbird measuring between 15.5 and 17 cm and breeds mostly in north central Asia.

One of these birds was recorded for the first time in Malta but the location has been withheld for fear of it being shot down.

These birds usually breed in wet meadows and migrates to south Asia in winter, but its range has been expanding westwards with rare vagrants being spotted in Western Europe and rarely ranging beyond Poland or far east Turkey.

According to Birdlife International, the breeding population in Europe is estimated to number between 210,000 to 520,000 breeding pairs, equating to 630,000 to 1,560,000 individual birds.

Vagrant Citrine Wagtails are drifters which seem to extend their migration rather than straying from their usual routes.

The Citrine Wagtail feeds on insects close to water, particularly wet meadows and bogs. It nests on the ground usually laying between four and five speckled eggs.