African Pied Wagtail ( Motacilla aguimp, family: Motacillidae)

african pied wagtail kruger national park birds The African Pied Wagtail (Latin name Motacilla aguimp) is described in Roberts Birds of Southern Africa, 7th Edition. This bird has a unique Roberts number of 711 and you will find a full description of this bird on page 1089 also a picture of the African Pied Wagtail on page 1073. The African Pied Wagtail belongs to the family of birds classified as Motacillidae.

In the previous edition of Roberts (ie 6th edition) the African Pied Wagtail was called the

The map of the Kruger you see on this page shows the areas (coloured orange) where this bird has been identified. The basic information was provided by the Avian Demographic Unit based at UCT and I created the maps from that information ... the green dots show the locations of the various Kruger National Park Rest Camps

The African Pied Wagtail is neither Endemic or near Endemic to the Kruger National Park. It is however a common resident

In terms of distribution of the African Pied Wagtail in the Kruger National Park you may not see it in all areas. African Pied Wagtail : see above distribution map.

The African Pied Wagtail.

Kruger Park African Pied WagtailIdentification assistance for this avian species ...

The African Pied Wagtail is a smallish bird but somewhat larger than a house sparrow. The height of the African Pied Wagtail is about 20 cms and its weight is about 27 gms

You will find that the male African Pied Wagtail plumage and colours are different to that of the female African Pied Wagtail

  • Head is black, grey.
  • Eye is brown.
  • Bill is black.
  • Throat is white.
  • Back is brown.
  • Legs are black.

This bird has normally proportioned leg length.

Main diet items for this bird ...

The African Pied Wagtail feeds on the ground, and on the wing mainly

Invertebrates

Seeds

Breeding and nesting habits for this bird ...

The African Pied Wagtail is monogamous unless its mate dies. In the event of a partner dying Motacilla aguimp will seek out a new mate

The nesting habit of African Pied Wagtail is to create the nest in a hole in a tree trunk. The bird lays eggs which are white in colour and number between 2 to 5

Habitat and flocking behaviour for this bird ...

The preferred habitats for African Pied Wagtail are: woodlands

You will normally see the African Pied Wagtail in pairs or flocks and not as single birds.

Names of this avian species in other languages ...

Xhosa ... Umcelu/Umvemve/Umventshana

Zulu ... umVemve

Afrikaans ...Bontkwikkie

German ... Witwenstelze

Portuguese ... Alvola-preta-e-branca

French ... Bergeronnette pie

Dutch ... Afrikaanse Bonte Kwikstaart

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For in-depth birding information please refer to these authoritative avian references ...

Robert's 7th edition number ... 711

The main reference source for this data was "Roberts - Birds of Southern Africa, 7th Edition" . Other references were "Newmans Birds of the Kruger Park" by Keith Newman published circa 1980 . Names in foreign languages were obtained from the Percy Fitzpatrick Institute of African Ornithology, University of Cape Town website , www.fitzpatrick.uct.ac.za