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Pied wagtail perched on fence post

Wagtails

There is something very hypnotic about watching one of the 11 species of wagtail. These slender, energetic, and often colourful birds are constantly wagging their long tail; the trait from which they get their common name. The reason for this behaviour is not clearly understood, but could be for communicating with each other or to warn off potential predators.

Species familiar to us in the UK, such as the yellow, grey and pied wagtails, are also widespread throughout much of Europe, Asia and north Africa. Other species can have a more restricted range, for example, the endemic Madagascan wagtail, as its name suggests, can only be found on the African island of Madagascar.

Scientific name: Motacilla

Rank: Genus

Distribution

The Wagtails can be found in a number of locations including: Africa, Asia, Europe. Find out more about these places and what else lives there.

Explore this group

Pied wagtail
Pied wagtail Grey wagtail
Grey wagtail

Behaviours

Discover what these behaviours are and how different plants and animals use them.

Additional data source: Animal Diversity Web

About

The wagtails form the passerine bird genus Motacilla. They are small birds with long tails which they wag frequently. Motacilla, the root of the family and genus name, means moving tail. The Forest Wagtail belongs to the monotypic genus Dendronanthus which is closely related to Motacilla and sometimes included herein.

The Willie Wagtail (Rhipidura leucophrys) of Australia is an unrelated bird similar in colouration and shape to the Japanese Wagtail. It belongs to the fantail flycatchers.

Read more at Wikipedia

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Classification

  1. Life
  2. Animals
  3. Vertebrates
  4. Birds
  5. Perching birds
  6. Motacillidae
  7. Wagtails

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