Wagtails

All 3 species of wagtails on WAnimals

Each one has its own full profile. This group does not replace them: it brings them together.

Conservation status

Where they live

Recorded in 47 countries. The ones with the most species in the group:

Where to see them

Did you know…?

• Always tied to running water; it bobs its tail constantly on the stones.

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• It is the wagtail most tied to running water: it prefers stretches of river with rapids and waterfalls, which is where its Spanish name comes from.

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• It goes higher than the yellow wagtail: it can live up to 2,000 m, while that species does not usually pass 800.

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• It follows livestock to catch the insects they put up as they graze.

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• Its Spanish name comes from its habit of moving among cattle looking for the insects they flush; "lavandera", washerwoman, refers to its living beside water.

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• Its scientific name conceals a medieval misunderstanding: motacilla is in fact a diminutive of motare, "to move", but it was read as though cilla meant "tail".

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• It associates with livestock to take the larvae of the insects that lay their eggs in the dung.

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• It is one of the regular hosts of the common cuckoo in central Europe.

Ecosystems