Cape Wagtail (Motacilla capensis) lives in grasslands, wetlands across Southern Africa. It feeds on insects and worms. Its conservation status is Least Concern.
Fascinating facts about the Cape Wagtail
- Cape wagtails were first given a scientific name in 1766 when Carl Linnaeus added them to the twelfth edition of his Systema Naturae, coining Motacilla capensis after French naturalist Mathurin Jacques Brisson's 1760 description. Linnaeus's update introduced 240 species, including this bird, and the genus Motacilla itself had been launched just eight years earlier in 1758.
- Three subspecies of Cape wagtail occupy distinct parts of Africa: M. c. simplicissima ranges from Angola to northern Botswana, M. c. capensis spreads across Namibia to central Mozambique, and M. c.. wellsi lives in the highlands of the eastern DRC through Kenya. Each subspecies was described by a different authority, Neumann in 1929, Linnaeus in 1766, and Ogilvie-Grant in 1911.
- Breeding Cape wagtails can lay between one and five eggs, which both parents incubate for 13-15 days. After hatching, chicks stay in the nest for 14-18 days before fledging, then receive parental food for another 20-25 days, and finally become fully independent roughly 44-60 days after leaving the nest. This extended parental care period, lasting up to two months, underscores the species' investment in offspring survival despite its ability to breed year-round.
- In East Africa Cape wagtails are typically found above 2,000 m (6,600 ft) altitude, yet across their range they occupy almost any open ground near water, from rocky coastlines to urban gardens. This flexibility lets them thrive in diverse settings, from highland streams to city parks, illustrating how a single species can bridge pristine wilderness and human-altered landscapes while still needing that water edge.
- Cape wagtails are monogamous territorial nesters that may stay with the same partner for several breeding seasons. Their nests are versatile cups built from natural and artificial materials, hair, rootlets, wool, feathers, placed in steep banks, trees, walls, pots, or bridges.
Sources
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At a glance
RangeSouthern Africa
HabitatGrasslands, wetlands
DietInsects and worms
About the Cape Wagtail
In the sun-drenched landscapes of southern Africa, the Cape Wagtail dances across the terrain with an air of effortless elegance, its slender tail bobbing up and down in a metronomic rhythm as it searches for insects and small invertebrates to snack on. With its sleek grey and yellow plumage glistening in the bright light, this charming bird weaves in and out of the underbrush with a quiet confidence, its large eyes ever vigilant for potential threats. As it moves through its world, the Cape Wagtail embodies a sense of carefree abandon, its very presence a testament to the simple joys of life in the wild.
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