Grey Wagtail

This article is incomplete. This article is missing one or more sections. You can help the BirdForum Opus by expanding it.

Photo by Gabriel Rasson

Motacilla cinerea

Distribution

Found from Europe and North Africa over most of Asia to India, south-east Asia east to New Guinea.

Taxonomy

Subspecies

Three to six subspecies recognized. Clements^[1] and Donsker accept only three:

• M. c. cinerea:

• Eurasia; North Africa, south-eastern Asia, New Guinea

• M. c. patriciae:

• Azores (Furnas and São Miguel)

• M. c. schmitzi:

• Madeira

Other authorities split three additional subspecies from the nominate:

• M. c. melanope:

• Breeds northern Asia from the Ural Mountains east to the coast of the Sea of Okhotsk, south to the north-west, north and eastern Mongolia and eastern China; also in mountains from Tien Shan south to eastern Afghanistan and east along the Himalayas; winters north-eastern Africa and south-eastern Asia

• M. c. robusta:

• Breeds extreme eastern Asia from eastern Russia, south to Korea and Japan; winters south to Sundas and New Guinea

• M. c. canariensis:

• Canary Islands

Behaviour

Vocalisation

<flashmp3>Motacilla cinerea (song).mp3</flashmp3>
Listen in an external program

References

1. Clements, JF. 2008. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2008. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019.

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Grey Wagtail. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 26 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Grey_Wagtail

External Links

Search for photos of Grey Wagtail in the gallery

Search for videos of Grey Wagtail on BirdForum TV