African Pied Wagtail

Motacilla aguimp

Other Names

    Bergeronnette pie   Witwenstelze   Lavandera Pía   Brokärla   Afrikaanse Bonte Kwikstaart   Ballerina nera africana

World: Africa, from Sierra Leone and Liberia, East to Ethiopia and Somalia and South to Namibia, Botswana and South Africa.

Kenya: Common in the South and South-West, mostly absent from the North and East.

The common wagtail in towns in is usually found near water, including any that may be provided by people, hence it's absence from the North and East of Kenya. During the day it's usually seen alone or in pairs but gathers in communal roosts in the evenings. There are several similar looking wagtails found in Kenya; the White wagtail which has no black marking on the side of the face, the Mountain Wagtail which has a grey mantle and a thinner breast band and the Cape Wagtail which resembles a juvenile Pied Wagtail but has no white in the wing and a much narrower superciliary stripe.