- Motacilla capensis
Identification
Description
L. 20 cm
Wt. 20 g
Gregarious
- Dull olive grey
- Dull off-white below
- Blackish breast band
- White supercilium
- White edges to wing feathers
- Dark grey-brown tail
Distribution
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
Other Names
Deutsch: Kapstelze
Afrikaans: Gewone Kwikkie
Behavior
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.