Wagtails are largely terrestrial birds, famous for pumping their tails and bobbing their heads as they forage, often lurching into the air after flying insects. Although it was winter in Namibia, this male had a territory on the grounds of the lodge which it defended with a long, varied tinkling song given from the ground. The white flanks and white patch on the side of the head are characteristic of the widespread subspecies M. a. vidua which ranges throughout Sub-Saharan Africa. Nominate M. a. aguimp is localized in the Orange and Vaal River valleys. It has much darker flanks and lacks the white patch on the side of the neck. The two races intergrade in Northeastern South
Africa.
African Pied Wagtail along with other similarly large, dark-backed, white winged species in India and Japan form a superspecies with the widespread White Wagtail (M. alba) of Eurasia. In the past, African Pied has been regarded as a race of White Wagtail, but pronounced differences in size, plumage and song argue against that taxonomy. This species is remarkably similar to the recently discovered Mekong Wagtail (M. samveasnae) which is confined to remote regions of Laos and Cambodia. It differs from M. aguimp primarily in having less white in the greater wing coverts. The Mekong Wagtail was described as new to science in 2001. Its nuclear DNA is almost identical to that of M. aguimp.
