Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea) lives in fast flowing streams across Europe and Asia, tropical Asia and Africa. Its conservation status is Least Concern.
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A real field recording of the Grey Wagtail, made in the wild.
Grey wagtails breed from April to July and build their nests on embankments beside fast-flowing streams or rivers, tucking them among stones and roots. In many parts of Europe they also exploit holes in man-made structures close to the water. Each clutch holds three to six speckled eggs, and the birds often raise several broods, although later clutches tend to be smaller.
In parts of its range the grey wagtail shares riverine nesting sites with the white-throated dipper, both species occupying the same fast-flowing streams. Occasionally adult wagtails have been observed feeding dipper chicks, a rare example of interspecific feeding recorded from these habitats. This behaviour occurs where the two birds nest side by side, highlighting a brief overlap in their breeding ecology.
Adult grey wagtails frequently carry the tick Ixodes ricinus, a parasite known to harbour the bacterium Borrelia. Because these birds move between watercourses while foraging and during migration, they can potentially disperse Lyme-disease agents over a wide region. The species' habit of travelling along streams and even using man-made water structures increases the chance of tick transport.
Grey wagtails often produce several broods in a single breeding season, but each successive clutch contains fewer eggs than the one before. A typical clutch holds three to six speckled eggs, with five being common in Ireland, and overall breeding success reaches about 80 %. After an incubation of roughly two weeks, the chicks leave the nest within a fortnight, and individuals can survive up to eight years in the wild.
Sources
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As the Grey Wagtail dances along the river's edge, its sleek, grey plumage glistens like polished stone, and its tail, a metronome of constant motion, swishes back and forth with an air of reckless abandon. With each step, the bird seems to embody the very essence of fluidity, its long legs carrying it with effortless ease across the wet rocks and mossy boulders that line the water's edge. In this fleeting, sun-dappled world, the Grey Wagtail is a whirlwind of energy and movement, its presence a vibrant thread woven into the rich tapestry of the natural landscape.
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