Let's draw a Willie Wagtail

The lovely little Willie Wagtail is a busy, chatty bird which lives all over Australia. They have a tail that spreads out like a fan and cute distinctive eyebrows! Watch as we show you the steps you need to draw your very own wagtail, sitting and waiting for some very delicious insects to come past.

You’ll need

• a piece of paper
• a grey lead
• an eraser
• a black pen
• texta or colouring pencils

What to do

1. Draw the outline of the bird using a grey lead. Start with the body shape. You want to make quite a large egg shape that is tilted on its side to begin with. Draw a squiggly line under the top part of the egg shape, because the bird’s body isn't perfectly oval.
2. Add the head. Make a small half-circle head on the upper left-hand side of its body.
3. Add the wings. They're quite short wings. Make sure you add a second little wing at the bottom - that's the wing on the other side peeking out! Then, add the all-important tail.
4. Now add the eye and the small beak.
5. Erase your pencil lines around the head and the one that’s under the top of the egg.
6. Draw the two legs at the base, with four toes at the end of each one.
7. Put an area above the eye - that’s its eyebrow. Did you know? The Willie Wagtail is known for its very distinct eyebrow!
8. Draw a curvy line around from the front and side of its body, down to the bottom of the wings. You have the base of your Wagtail!
9. Now it's time to begin colouring. Ink in the top of the Willie Wagtail, except for the middle of its eye and its eyebrow.
10. Time to get creative and add a background. You could add leaves because it likes being on the ground, or you could place it perched in a tree. When you've finished the background, your Willie Wagtail is now complete!

Thanks for drawing along with us. We would love to see your bird drawings. If you like, send them to our team at [email protected] or tag us on social media using #MelbourneMuseum #MuseumAtHome.