Talk:Motacilla flava

This is a fairly broad view of M. flava, although some authors make M. tschutschensis a further ssp.

The mitochondrial DNA studies of Pavlova et al. suggest three species, distinguishing those they studied as:

• Western group: M. flava including feldegg, beema, thunbergi, lutea, leucocephala
• Southeastern group: M. taivana including macronyx
• Northeastern group: M. tschutschuensis including plexa

This study repudiates the multiple species division proposed by Alstrom et al.:

• Yellow Wagtail: M. flava including beema
• Ashy-headed Wagtail: M. cinereocapilla including pygmaea
• Spanish Wagtail: M. iberiae
• White-headed Wagtail:M. leucocephala
• Yellow-headed Wagtail: M. lutea
• Black-headed Wagtail: M. feldegg including melanogrisea
• Grey-headed Wagtail: M. thunbergi including plexa, angarensis, macronyx
• Green-headed Wagtail: M. taivana
• Kamchatka Wagtail: M. simillima including zaissanensis
• Yellowish-crowned Wagtail: M. flavissima