Data Zone
Taxonomic note
Motacilla flava and M. tschutschensis (del Hoyo and Collar 2016) were previously lumped as M. flava following AERC TAC (2003); Cramp et al. (1977-1994); Dowsett and Forbes-Watson (1993); Sibley and Monroe (1990, 1993).
Taxonomic source(s)
del Hoyo, J., Collar, N.J., Christie, D.A., Elliott, A., Fishpool, L.D.C., Boesman, P. and Kirwan, G.M. 2016. HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Volume 2: Passerines. Lynx Edicions and BirdLife International, Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge, UK.
| Critically Endangered | Endangered | Vulnerable |
|---|---|---|
| - | - | - |
| Year | Category | Criteria |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Least Concern | |
| 2016 | Least Concern |
| Migratory status | full migrant | Forest dependency | Does not normally occur in forest |
| Land mass type | Average mass | 18 g |
| Estimate | Data quality | |
|---|---|---|
| Extent of Occurrence breeding/resident (km2) | 40,900,000 | |
| Extent of Occurrence non-breeding (km2) | 102,000,000 | |
| Number of locations | - | |
| Severely Fragmented | - |
| Value | Data quality | Derivation | Year of estimate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. of mature individuals | 60000000-109999999 | poor | estimated | 2012 |
| Population trend | Decreasing | suspected | - | |
| Decline (3 years/1 generation past) | - | - | - | |
| Decline (5 years/1 generation past) | - | - | - | |
| Decline (10 years/1 generation past) | - | - | - | |
| Decline (10 years/3 generation future) | - | - | - | |
| Decline (10 years/3 generation past and future) | - | - | - | |
| Number of subpopulations | - | - | - | |
| Percentage in largest subpopulation | - | - | - | |
| Generation length (yrs) | 4.7 | - | - | - |
Population justification: In Europe, the breeding population is estimated to number 9,630,000-16,000,000 pairs, which equates to 19,300,000-32,100,000 mature individuals (BirdLife International 2015). Europe forms c.30% of the global range, so a very preliminary estimate of the global population size is 64,000,000-107,000,000 mature individuals, although further validation of this estimate is needed.
Trend justification: In Europe, trends between 1980 and 2013 show that populations have undergone a moderate decline (p<0.01) (EBCC 2015).
| Country/Territory | Occurrence status | Presence | Resident | Breeding | Non-breeding | Passage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afghanistan | N | Extant | Yes | Yes | ||
| Albania | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Algeria | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Angola | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Armenia | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Austria | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Azerbaijan | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Bahrain | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Bangladesh | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Belarus | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Belgium | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Benin | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Bhutan | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Botswana | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Bulgaria | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Burkina Faso | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Burundi | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Cameroon | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Cape Verde | V | Extant | ||||
| Central African Republic | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Chad | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| China (mainland) | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Comoros | V | Extant | ||||
| Congo | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Congo, The Democratic Republic of the | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Côte d'Ivoire | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Croatia | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Cyprus | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Czechia | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Denmark | N | Extant | Yes | Yes | ||
| Djibouti | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Egypt | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Equatorial Guinea | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Eritrea | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Estonia | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Eswatini | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Ethiopia | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Faroe Islands (to Denmark) | V | Extant | ||||
| Finland | N | Extant | Yes | Yes | ||
| France | N | Extant | Yes | Yes | ||
| Gabon | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Gambia | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Georgia | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Germany | N | Extant | Yes | Yes | ||
| Ghana | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Gibraltar (to UK) | N | Extant | Yes | Yes | ||
| Greece | N | Extant | Yes | Yes | ||
| Guinea | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Guinea-Bissau | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Hungary | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Iceland | V | Extant | ||||
| India | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Iran, Islamic Republic of | N | Extant | Yes | Yes | ||
| Iraq | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Ireland | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Israel | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Italy | N | Extant | Yes | Yes | ||
| Jordan | N | Extant | Yes | Yes | ||
| Kazakhstan | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Kenya | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Kuwait | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Kyrgyzstan | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Latvia | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Lebanon | N | Extant | Yes | Yes | ||
| Liberia | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Libya | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Liechtenstein | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Lithuania | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Luxembourg | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Malawi | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Maldives | V | Extant | ||||
| Mali | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Malta | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Mauritania | N | Extant | ||||
| Moldova | N | Extant | Yes | Yes | ||
| Monaco | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Mongolia | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Montenegro | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Morocco | N | Extant | Yes | Yes | ||
| Mozambique | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Namibia | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Nepal | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Netherlands | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Niger | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Nigeria | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| North Macedonia | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Norway | N | Extant | Yes | Yes | ||
| Oman | N | Extant | Yes | Yes | ||
| Pakistan | N | Extant | Yes | Yes | ||
| Palau | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Poland | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Portugal | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Qatar | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Romania | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Russia | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Russia (Asian) | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Russia (Central Asian) | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Russia (European) | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Rwanda | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| San Marino | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Saudi Arabia | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Senegal | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Serbia | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Seychelles | V | Extant | ||||
| Sierra Leone | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Slovakia | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Slovenia | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Somalia | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| South Africa | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| South Sudan | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Spain | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Sri Lanka | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Sudan | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Svalbard and Jan Mayen Islands (to Norway) | V | Extant | ||||
| Sweden | N | Extant | Yes | Yes | ||
| Switzerland | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Syria | N | Extant | Yes | Yes | ||
| Tajikistan | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Tanzania | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Togo | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Tunisia | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Turkey | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Turkmenistan | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Uganda | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Ukraine | N | Extant | Yes | Yes | ||
| United Arab Emirates | N | Extant | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| United Kingdom | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Uzbekistan | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Western Sahara | N | Extant | Yes | Yes | ||
| Yemen | N | Extant | Yes | Yes | ||
| Zambia | N | Extant | Yes | |||
| Zimbabwe | N | Extant | Yes |
| Habitat (level 1) | Habitat (level 2) | Importance | Occurrence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Artificial/Aquatic & Marine | Artificial/Aquatic - Wastewater Treatment Areas | suitable | breeding |
| Artificial/Aquatic & Marine | Artificial/Aquatic - Wastewater Treatment Areas | suitable | non-breeding |
| Artificial/Terrestrial | Arable Land | suitable | non-breeding |
| Artificial/Terrestrial | Pastureland | suitable | non-breeding |
| Grassland | Temperate | suitable | breeding |
| Grassland | Temperate | suitable | non-breeding |
| Grassland | Tundra | suitable | breeding |
| Grassland | Tundra | suitable | non-breeding |
| Shrubland | Temperate | suitable | breeding |
| Shrubland | Temperate | suitable | non-breeding |
| Wetlands (inland) | Bogs, Marshes, Swamps, Fens, Peatlands | suitable | breeding |
| Wetlands (inland) | Bogs, Marshes, Swamps, Fens, Peatlands | suitable | non-breeding |
| Wetlands (inland) | Permanent Freshwater Lakes (over 8ha) | suitable | breeding |
| Wetlands (inland) | Permanent Freshwater Lakes (over 8ha) | suitable | non-breeding |
| Wetlands (inland) | Permanent Rivers/Streams/Creeks (includes waterfalls) | suitable | breeding |
| Wetlands (inland) | Permanent Rivers/Streams/Creeks (includes waterfalls) | suitable | non-breeding |
| Altitude | 0 - 4500 m | Occasional altitudinal limits |
| Purpose | Primary form used | Life stage used | Source | Scale | Level | Timing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Food - human | - | - | Non-trivial | Recent | ||
| Pets/display animals, horticulture | - | - | International | Non-trivial | Recent | |
| Sport hunting/specimen collecting | - | - | Non-trivial | Recent |
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2023) Species factsheet: Motacilla flava. Downloaded from
http://www.birdlife.org on 21/03/2023.
Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2023) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from
http://www.birdlife.org on 21/03/2023.
