African pied wagtail
| African pied wagtail | |
|---|---|
.jpg) | |
| M. a. vidua, Uganda | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Motacillidae |
| Genus: | Motacilla |
| Species: | M. aguimp |
| Binomial name | |
| Motacilla aguimp Temminck, 1820[2] | |
The African pied wagtail, or African wagtail, (Motacilla aguimp) is a species of bird in the Motacillidae family.
Description
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.[3]
Distribution
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.[1][4]
Habitat
The African pied wagtail inhabits subtropical or tropical seasonally wet or flooded lowland grassland, rivers, and, sometimes, freshwater marshes.[5] In some areas it is commensal with humans in towns and villages.[4]
Biology
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.[6]
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.[7] While chicks have been recorded as prey of Burchell's coucal Centropus burchellii.[8]
The African pied wagtail is mainly insectivorous but also feeds on other invertebrates, grass seeds, tadpoles, small fish and scraps of human food.[8]
Etymology
The scientific binomial for the African pied wagtail is Motacilla aguimp; Motacilla, the name of the genus containing all but the forest wagtail of Asia, is from the Latin for a “little mover” while the specific name aguimp from the French for “with a wimple” which refers to the black hood of the African pied wagtail.[7]
Taxonomy and subspecies
Among the wagtails the African pied wagtail is most similar in appearance to the recently discovered Mekong wagtail but genetic evidence suggests that the two are each other's closest relatives and are each just as related to other black and white wagtails such as the white wagtail M. alba complex or the white-browed wagtail M. maderaspatensis.[9]
There are currently two recognised subspecies of the African Pied wagtail.[10]
- Motacilla aguimp aguimp- western southern Africa from the Northern Cape and Orange Free State west along the Gariep River to southernmost Namibia and Lesotho.
- Motacilla aguimp vidua- the remainder of the range.
References
- 1 2 "Motacilla aguimp (African Pied Wagtail, African Wagtail)". International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
- ↑ "IOC World Bird Lists Version 6.4 Waxbills, parrotfinches, munias, whydahs, Olive Warbler, accentors & pipits". IOC World Bird List v 6.4 by Frank Gill & David Donsker (Eds). International Ornithological Congress. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
- ↑ Sinclair, Ian; Ryan, Peter (2003). Birds of Africa south of the Sahara. Struik. p. 364. ISBN 1-8687-2857-9.
- 1 2 "African Pied Wagtail Bontwikkie Motacilla agiump" (PDF). The Atlas of Southern African Birds. Animal Demography Unit. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
- ↑ "African pied wagtail". Beauty of Birds. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
- ↑ Nhlane, M.E.D. (1990). "Breeding biology of the African Pied Wagtail Motacilla aguimp in Blantyre, Malaŵi (abstract)". Ostrich. 61: 1–4.
- 1 2 "Bird of the week – Week 40 : African pied wagtail". Wordpress. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
- 1 2 "Motacilla aguimp (African pied wagtail)". Iziko Museums of South Africa. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
- ↑ "Mekong Wagtail". Oriental Bird Club. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
- ↑ "African Pied Wagtail Motacilla aguimp Temminck, 1820". Denis Lepage. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
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External links
- African pied wagtail - Species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds.