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Gray Wagtail

Motacilla cinereaOrder: PASSERIFORMESFamily: Wagtails and Pipits (Motacillidae)

Gray Wagtail Portrait
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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

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Range Map for Gray Wagtail
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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 Wagtails and Pipits (Motacillidae)_blue
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