Motacilla cinerea
Silhouette: Martin Bulla, based on Ren Hathway's illustration · PhyloPic
In 3 days <5%
The grey wagtail (Motacilla cinerea) is a member of the wagtail family, Motacillidae, measuring around 18–19 cm overall length. The species looks somewhat similar to the yellow wagtail but has the yellow on its underside restricted to the throat and vent. Breeding males have a black throat. The species is widely distributed, with several populations breeding in Eurosiberia and migrating to tropical regions in Asia and Africa. The species is always associated with running water when breeding, although they may use man-made structures near streams for the nest. Outside the breeding season, they may also be seen around lakes, coasts and other watery habitats. Like other wagtails, they frequently wag their tail and fly low with undulations and they have a sharp call that is often given in flight.
The binomial name of the grey wagtail Motacilla cinerea was introduced by Marmaduke Tunstall in his 1771 publication Ornithologia Britannica. Motacilla is the Latin name for the pied wagtail; although actually a diminutive of motare, "to move about", from medieval times it led to the misunderstanding of cilla as "tail". The specific cinerea is Latin for "ash-grey... Wikipedia →
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Xiuying District | 🇨🇳 China | |
| 2 | Sincan | 🇹🇷 Turkey | |
| 3 | Đà Nẵng | 🇻🇳 Vietnam | |
| 4 | Turin | 🇮🇹 Italy | |
| 5 | Taipei | 🇹🇼 Taiwan | |
| 6 | Athens | 🇬🇷 Greece | |
| 7 | Jabalpur | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 8 | Manchester | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 9 | Kathmandu | 🇳🇵 Nepal | |
| 10 | Antalya | 🇹🇷 Turkey |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dresden Zoo | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 2 | Barcelona Zoo | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 3 | Aquarama Barcelona | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 4 | Wildwood Discovery Park | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 5 | Bioparc Fuengirola | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 6 | Aquamarine Inawashiro Kingfishers Aquarium | 🇯🇵 Japan | |
| 7 | Snakeroom Serpentarium | 🇪🇸 Spain |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Grey Wagtail sighting in Durban on a given day, based on 9 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 192nd most-seen of the 219 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, if each day is a fresh chance.
May
In that month about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Grey Wagtail in Durban on a given day, against under 5% in June to April, the lowest months. That is one of Durban's driest months, with about 40 mm of rain against 210 mm in January.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Grey Wagtail sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
156th of 164
Of the 164 cities where we can rate Grey Wagtail sightings, Durban ranks 156th at under 5%. The best odds are in Xiuying District (China, about 50%), Sincan (Turkey, about 30%) and Đà Nẵng (Vietnam, about 30%).
Same genus: Motacilla
The closest relatives of the Grey Wagtail that you can see in Durban (genus Motacilla, Wagtails) are Cape Wagtail (about 50%) and African Pied Wagtail (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Grey Wagtail is recorded against all the birds logged in Durban (9 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.
