Quantcast

Gray Wagtail

Motacilla cinereaOrder: PASSERIFORMESFamily: Wagtails and Pipits (Motacillidae)

Gray Wagtail Portrait
  Copyright 2002-2007 Whatbird.com
Click here for licensing information Splitbar

General

Gray Wagtail: Medium-sized wagtail with black throat, blue-gray upperparts, brilliant yellow underparts, distinct white eye-line, and yellow legs and feet. Tail is long, black, and white-edged. Female, winter adult, and juvenile have white throats. Rare visitor to Alaska.

Range and Habitat

Gray Wagtail: Rare to casual on the western Aleutians, Pribilofs, and St. Lawrence islands; accidental in California. Preferred habitats include upland streams and vicinities, rocky places or cliffs, and lakes and rivers.

Listen to Call

Voice Text

"tsee-tsee-tsee", "chink", "tisk"

Interesting Facts

  • The Gray Wagtail was first described by Marmaduke Tunstall in his 1771 Ornithologia Britannica.
  • This is an insectivorous bird of fast flowing streams, although in winter it will move to slower flowing lowland waters.
  • It is the longest tailed of the European wagtails.
  • A group of wagtails are collectively known as a "flock" of wagtails.


Author

Gary Owen Dick

Splitbar
Range Map for Gray Wagtail
.
Bird database and its related content, illustrations and media is Copyright © 2002 - 2007  Whatbird.com
All rights reserved. No part of this web site may be reproduced without written permission from Mitch Waite Group.
 Privacy Policy.
Percevia® Registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.
Family
Species Motacilla cinerea
Length7 - 7.75 Inches
Wingspan10.25 Inches

Gray Wagtail

Gray Wagtail: Medium wagtail with black throat, blue-gray upperparts, brilliant yellow underparts. Distinct white eye-line and long malar stripe stand out against dark face. Bill is black. Legs and feet are pink. Tail is long, black, and white-edged. Has the longest tail of the European wagtails.

● Song: "tsee-tsee-tsee", "chink", "tisk"

● Foraging & Feeding: Gray Wagtail: Diet consists mostly of insects and snails; forages on the ground and in shallow water.

● Breeding & nesting: Gray Wagtail: Four to five yellow gray eggs with dark blotches are laid in a nest made of twigs, roots, grass, and moss, lined with hair and feathers, and built on the ground, hidden in a crevice, or sheltered by a boulder or tree roots. Incubation ranges from 11 to 14 days and is carried out by the female.

● Similar species: Gray Wagtail: Eastern Yellow Wagtail is smaller and has a shorter tail.

Flight Pattern

Several rapid wing strokes alternating with wings pulled to side.
Gray Wagtail Body Illustration
● Range & Habitat: Gray Wagtail: Rare to casual on the western Aleutians, Pribilofs, and St. Lawrence islands; accidental in California. Preferred habitats include upland streams and vicinities, rocky places or cliffs, and lakes and rivers.
BreedingMonogamous, Solitary nester
PopulationRare to casual
MigrationMigratory
Weight0.8 Ounces