Eastern Yellow Wagtail, Moticilla tschutschenis


Eastern Yellow Wagtail
Recognized as a separate species in 2006 by the AOU, formerly considered a subspecies of the Yellow Wagtail (Moticilla flava),
this bird is a fairly common breeder in northern and western Alaska; they were just arriving when I visited Nome at the end of May
and the beginning of June, 2011. They winter mostly in Southeast Asia. The wagtails, a widespread and common group of species
found throughout Eurasia,  join the pipits to make up the family Moticillidae.