Wagtail word meaning and definition

[noun] Old World bird having a very long tail that jerks up and down as it walks

\Wag"tail`\, n. (Zo["o]l.) Any one of many species of Old World singing birds belonging to {Motacilla} and several allied genera of the family {Motacillid[ae]}. They have the habit of constantly jerking their long tails up and down, whence the name. {Field wagtail}, any one of several species of wagtails of the genus {Budytes} having the tail shorter, the legs longer, and the hind claw longer and straighter, than do the water wagtails. Most of the species are yellow beneath. Called also {yellow wagtail}. {Garden wagtail}, the Indian black-breasted wagtail ({Nemoricola Indica}). {Pied wagtail}, the common European water wagtail ({Motacilla lugubris}). It is variegated with black and white. The name is applied also to other allied species having similar colors. Called also {pied dishwasher}. {Wagtail flycatcher}, a true flycatcher ({Sauloprocta motacilloides}) common in Southern Australia, where it is very tame, and frequents stock yards and gardens and often builds its nest about houses; -- called also {black fantail}. {Water wagtail}.
(a) Any one of several species of wagtails of the restricted genus {Motacilla}. They live chiefly on the shores of ponds and streams.
(b) The American water thrush. See {Water thrush}. {Wood wagtail}, an Asiatic wagtail; ({Calobates sulphurea}) having a slender bill and short legs.

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