The wagtails are a group of small passerine birds with long tails which they wag frequently.
"Motacilla", the root of the family and main generic name, means “moving tail”. They are in the same family as the pipits and longclaws.
They are slender, often colourful, ground–feeding insectivores of open country in the Old World. Wagtails are ground nesters, laying up to six speckled eggs.
There are eleven species, all but one in Motacilla.
Genus Dendronanthus
Genus Motacilla
- Citrine Wagtail Motacilla citreola
- Japanese Wagtail Motacilla grandis
- White-browed Wagtail Motacilla madaraspatensis
- African Pied Wagtail Motacilla aguimp
- Mountain Wagtail Motacilla clara
- Cape Wagtail Motacilla capensis
- Madagascar Wagtail Motacilla flaviventris
- White Wagtail Motacilla alba. Several races, including:
- Motacilla alba alba
- Motacilla alba yarrellii, the Pied Wagtail.
- Grey Wagtail Motacilla cinerea
- Blue-headed Wagtail Motacilla flava. Several races differing in head colour.
The Willie Wagtail (Rhipidura leucophrys) of Australia is unrelated.
