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African Pied Wagtail

Motacilla aguimp

Least Concern · IUCN Red List

LCLeast ConcernInvertebratesRiverineCavity nestSmall · 27 g
African Pied Wagtail (Motacilla aguimp), photo 1
Photo: Bruno - Yolande Zanette · CC BY 4.0
African Pied Wagtail (Motacilla aguimp), photo 2
Photo: Bruno - Yolande Zanette · CC BY 4.0
African Pied Wagtail (Motacilla aguimp), photo 3
Photo: biogeek · CC BY 4.0
African Pied Wagtail (Motacilla aguimp), photo 4
Photo: timboucher · CC BY 4.0
African Pied Wagtail (Motacilla aguimp), photo 5
Photo: WaterGoat · CC BY 4.0
African Pied Wagtail (Motacilla aguimp), photo 6
Photo: WaterGoat · CC BY 4.0
African Pied Wagtail (Motacilla aguimp), photo 7
Photo: This image is created by user Bram ter Keurs at Observation.org, a global biodiversity recording project. · CC BY 3.0
African Pied Wagtail (Motacilla aguimp), photo 8
Photo: Derek Keats from Johannesburg, South Africa · CC BY 2.0
African Pied Wagtail (Motacilla aguimp), photo 9
Photo: Derek Keats from Johannesburg, South Africa · CC BY 2.0
African Pied Wagtail (Motacilla aguimp), photo 10
Photo: WaterGoat · CC BY 4.0

What the African Pied Wagtail sounds like

Sonogram of the African Pied Wagtail: time runs left to right, pitch bottom to top, and the brighter the mark the louder the sound.
Recorded by Anne Ndung'u · Song · Kilifi County, Kenya · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via xeno-canto
Sonogram of the African Pied Wagtail: time runs left to right, pitch bottom to top, and the brighter the mark the louder the sound.
Recorded by Anne Ndung'u · Song · Bus Stop (near Nairobi), Nairobi County, Kenya · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via xeno-canto
Sonogram of the African Pied Wagtail: time runs left to right, pitch bottom to top, and the brighter the mark the louder the sound.
Recorded by Anne Ndung'u · Call · Nairobi, Nairobi County, Kenya · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via xeno-canto

ID tip

A striking black and white wagtail with black upperparts contrasting with white underparts, it has a white supercilium and a white patch in the folded wing. Juvenile birds are greyer, while birds of the nominate subspecies show grey flanks. They are 20 cm (7.9 in) long.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

When to see the African Pied Wagtail

One bar for each month, and every month is filled: this bird is recorded here in all twelve. The wide bar is November, the month with the most records.

Where to see the African Pied Wagtail

Regular rangeRare visitor

The map shades 37 countries with regular records, and 3 more in a lighter tone where the bird turns up only as a stray. Everything unshaded has no records. Countries are listed below the map.

South Africa Kenya Uganda Tanzania Zambia Zimbabwe Rwanda Namibia Ghana Botswana Malawi Eswatini Congo - Kinshasa Mozambique Nigeria Ethiopia Senegal Gabon Cameroon Côte d’Ivoire Angola Egypt Congo - Brazzaville Burundi Sierra Leone Benin Central African Republic Togo Liberia South Sudan Lesotho Sudan Niger Equatorial Guinea Mali Somalia Guinea

Recorded as a rare visitor in Guinea-Bissau, Singapore, Burkina Faso.

About the African Pied Wagtail

The African pied wagtail, or African wagtail, is a species of bird in the family Motacillidae.

Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Easily confused with

Citrine Wagtail (Motacilla citreola) Citrine WagtailMotacilla citreolaIt is a slender, 15.5–17 cm long bird, with the long, constantly wagging tail characteristic of the genus Motacilla. Eastern Yellow Wagtail (Motacilla tschutschensis) Eastern Yellow WagtailMotacilla tschutschensisIt is a slender 15–16 cm long bird, with the characteristic long, constantly wagging tail of its genus. White-browed Wagtail (Motacilla maderaspatensis) White-browed WagtailMotacilla maderaspatensisThe white-browed wagtail is the largest species of wagtail at 21 cm (8.3 in) length.

Side by side: African Pied Wagtail vs Cape Wagtail · African Pied Wagtail vs White-browed Wagtail · African Pied Wagtail vs Eastern Yellow Wagtail · African Pied Wagtail vs Citrine Wagtail

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