Japanese Wagtail vs Mountain Wagtail

Japanese Wagtail

Motacilla grandis

Small30 gRiverine

The Japanese wagtail is about 20 cm long. The sexes look similar; they have white underparts and black upperparts, throats, and backs. Their supercilia are also white. They have black beaks and dark grey legs and feet. The plumage of a juvenile is greyer than that of an adult.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: nubobo from Iwata, Shizuoka, Japan · CC BY 2.0

Mountain Wagtail

Motacilla clara

Small18 gForest

A slender, long tailed wagtail with light bluish grey upperparts and white underparts with a narrow black breast band. The wings are black with white feather edges and two white wing covert bars. The outer tail is white and the tail centre is black. The face is blackish broken up with a white supercilium and the eyelid. Juveniles are browner than adults.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Derek Keats from Johannesburg, South Africa · CC BY 2.0

Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Japanese Wagtail and Mountain Wagtail.