African pied wagtail
| African pied wagtail | |
|---|---|
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| M. a. vidua, Uganda | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Motacillidae |
| Genus: | Motacilla |
| Species: | M. aguimp |
| Binomial name | |
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Motacilla aguimp Temminck, 1820 |
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The African pied wagtail, or African wagtail, (Motacilla aguimp) is a species of bird in the family Motacillidae.
A striking black and white wagtail with black upperparts contrasting with white underparts, a white supercilium and a white patch in the folded wing. Juvenile birds are greyer, while birds of the nominate subspecies show grey flanks. They are 20 cm (7.9 in) long.
The African pied wagtail is found in Sub-saharan Africa from the Eastern Cape north to extreme southern Egypt and from Guinea to western Eritrea and Somalia. It is a vagrant to Burkina Faso, Gambia, Mauritania and the Western Cape.
The African pied wagtail inhabits subtropical or tropical seasonally wet or flooded lowland grassland, rivers, and, sometimes, freshwater marshes. In some areas it is commensal with humans in towns and villages.
In Malawi African Pied wagtails started breeding before the rains and continue to breed into the rainy season, they bred for six months of the year peaking in March and October. Both the males and females particiate in nest building but only the female incubates but both sexes feed the young. The mean clutch was 3.9 eggs.
The African pied wagtail is monogamous, the cup-shaped nest is lined with grass and feathers and is usually situated near water in a convenient tangle of sticks. In settlements the nest may be located on buildings. The nests of the African pied wagtail are parasitised by the red-chested cuckoo Cuculus solitarius and the diderick cuckoo Chrysococcyx caprius. While chicks have been recorded as prey of Burchell's coucal Centropus burchellii.
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Wikipedia