Least ConcernWater Pipit
Anthus spinoletta
One of the 3 wagtails on WAnimals
Birds · Passeriformes · Motacillidae
Motacilla alba
The species is abundant and widely distributed; it faces no significant short-term risk.
A slender bird with a very long tail that it wags without pause, with a white face mask, a black throat and breast and a grey back. It walks with quick steps rather than hopping, and is as much at home on a city pavement as on a riverbank.
Weight
16 g – 27 g
Size
16 cm – 19 cm
Life expectancy
5 years
Diet
Insectivore
Feeds mainly on insects and other invertebrates.
Activity
Diurnal
Active mainly during the day.
Social structure
In pairs
Usually lives in pairs, sometimes for life.
Estimated population
Between 13 and 26 million breeding pairs in Europe according to BirdLife International (2004), equivalent to between 39 and 78 million individuals
Sources consulted: SEO/BirdLife (ficha y III Atlas de las aves en época de reproducción en España) · IUCN Red List · Asturnatura · Gordo y Aymí 2022, III Atlas · Audubon Field Guide · Pérez-Tris y Asensio 1997, Doñana Acta Vertebrata 24
Best time: All year round; Spain also receives a strong wintering contingent from northern Europe between October and March
Parks and dive sites where this species has been documented — showing 10 of 261.
Other species in the catalogue with the most in common with White Wagtail — same habitat, park, country, tags or family.
Based on what we already know about white wagtail.
The pins mark the parks where its presence is documented.
