Motacilla capensis
Silhouette: Martin Bulla, based on Ren Hathway's illustration · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~80% in a week >90%
The Cape wagtail (Motacilla capensis), also known as Wells's wagtail, is a small insectivorous bird which is widespread in southern Africa. It frequents water's edge, lawns and gardens. It is a mostly resident, territorial species, but has been known to undertake limited altitudinal migration or form flocks outside of the breeding season. Like other wagtails they are passerine birds of the family Motacillidae, which also includes the pipits and longclaws.
In 1760, French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson included a description of the Cape wagtail in his Ornithologie based on a specimen collected from the Cape of Good Hope. He used the French name La bergeronette du Cap de Bonne Espérance and the Latin Motacilla Capitis Bonae Spei. Although Brisson coined Latin names, these do not conform to the binomial system and are not recognised by the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature. When in 1766 the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus updated his Systema Naturae for the twelfth edition, he added 240 species that had been previously described by Brisson. One of these was the Cape wagtail. Linnaeus included a brief description, coined the binomial name Motacilla... Wikipedia →
Likely
About 40% of wildlife watchers report a Cape Wagtail sighting in Cape Town on a given day, based on 1,782 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 14th most-seen of the 196 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 80%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
January–July and September
In those months about 50% of wildlife watchers report a Cape Wagtail in Cape Town on a given day, against about 30% in October, the lowest month.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Cape Wagtail sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
2nd of 8
Of the 8 cities where we can rate Cape Wagtail sightings, Cape Town ranks 2nd at about 40%. The best odds are in Durban (South Africa, about 50%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Cape Wagtail is recorded against all the birds logged in Cape Town (1,782 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
