EPOW - Ecology Picture of the Week

Willy Wagtail With a Prize

Willy Wagtail (Rhipidura leucophrys picata), Family Rhipiduridae
Poss. Scarlet Percher Dragonfly (Diplacodes haematodes), Family Libellulidae
Kakadu National Park, Northern Territory, Australia

Explanation:  A prize for dinner!  This Willy Wagtail of northern Australia has snatched out of the air what looks like a Scarlet Percher dragonfly.  

Willy Wagtails have a harsh, scolding call,
and often tangle with other birds for resources and space.

  
Willy (sometimes spelled Willie) Wagtails are indeed very insectivorous.  They are commonly found throughout in Australia and parts of southeast Asia and Pacific Islands.  They are not, however, true "wagtails," and are more related to fantails, although they do have the habit of wagging their tail side-to-side when on the ground as wagtails do.  And apparently, that tail motion is used to stir up insect prey, so there is method for their wagging madness.

Willy Wagtails have even played a role in hunter-gatherer mythologies.  Aboriginal legends of Australia have used the behavior of animals to represent social events.  One legend, from Uluru (Ayers Rock) in central Australia, "describes the Willy Wagtail woman transgressing ritual law by dancing like a man, in the way the wagtail bird puffs out its chest and swings from side to side" (Layton 1985, p. 448).  

Information:
     Layton, R. 1985. The cultural context of hunter-gatherer rock art. Man, New Series 20(3):434-453.