- Motacilla capensis
Identification
L. 20 cm, Wt. 20 g
- Dull olive grey
- Dull off-white below
- Blackish breast band
- White supercilium
- White edges to wing feathers
- Dark grey-brown tail
Distribution
Sub-Saharan Africa: DRC, Uganda and Kenya in the north to southern South Africa.
Habitat
Almost anywhere where there is water with open ground nearby, from fynbos to forest edge and through alpine grasslands to the Namib Desert.
Taxonomy
Subspecies[1]
Motacilla capensis has three subspecies:
- M. c. simplicissima
- M. c. capensis
- South-western Angola, Namibia, southeastern Botswana, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Lesotho, Swaziland, and parts of southern Mozambique.
- As described under Identification.
- M. c. wellsi
Behaviour
Gregarious
Diet
Usually forages by walking purposefully, picking or darting after insects. Also wades through shallow water, picking prey in or over water. Mainly insects, dead or alive, including moths, dragonflies, ants, caterpillars, beetles, mosquitoes and termites.
Breeding
Solitary nester retaining same mate for successive breeding attempts and will attack its reflection in glass or metal during breeding season. Nest has a bulky base built of grasses, weeds, roots, pine needles and seedpods.
References
- Clements, JF. 2009. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2009. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019.
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Cape Wagtail. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 27 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Cape_Wagtail
External Links
