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wagtail

[ wag-teyl ]

noun

  1. any of numerous small, chiefly Old World birds of the family Motacillidae, having a slender body with a long, narrow tail tails that is habitually wagged up and down.
  2. any of several similar birds, as the water thrushes of the genus Seiurus.


wagtail

/ ˈwæɡˌteɪl /

noun

  1. any of various passerine songbirds of the genera Motacilla and Dendronanthus, of Eurasia and Africa, having a very long tail that wags when the bird walks: family Motacillidae
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


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Word History and Origins

Origin of wagtail1

First recorded in 1500–10; wag + tail 1
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Example Sentences

Drama also erupted on the final day of round one voting after a nail-biting three-way tussle between the wedge-tailed eagle, the galah and the willie wagtail came down to a handful of write-in votes.

A cement and brick pillbox had been built down by the river, right on the bend, among the sedges, destroying the nests of the teal and the gray wagtails.

A lark went twittering up into the brighter sunshine above, soared and sang and came slowly down, ending with a sideways, spread-wing glide and a wagtail’s run through the grass.

Two fledglings - a grey wagtail and a black redstart - were chased and swallowed when they landed in the water.

From BBC

The area is unusually abundant with animal life: the novel’s first chapter teems with wagtails, willow warblers, geese, horses, snow leopards, wolves, sheep, goats, geckos, and frogs.

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