Motacilla clara
Silhouette: Martin Bulla, based on Ren Hathway's illustration · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~50%
The mountain wagtail (Motacilla clara), also known as the long-tailed wagtail or grey-backed wagtail, is a species of wagtail of the family Motacillidae from sub-Saharan Africa. A slender, long tailed wagtail with light bluish grey upperparts and white underparts with a narrow black breast band. The wings are black with white feather edges and two white wing covert bars. The outer tail is white and the tail centre is black. The face is blackish broken up with a white supercilium and the eyelid. Juveniles are browner than adults.
The mountain wagtail occurs in the Afromontane, from Guinea to Ethiopia south to South Africa. In southern Africa it is locally common in the north and eastern highlands of Zimbabwe and adjoining parts of Mozambique, southwards to the Eastern Cape.
The mountain wagtail normally prefers small rivers and streams in hill country, especially stretches where there are waterfalls and flat rocks immersed in shallow water and where hill slopes are clothed in forest, woodland or dense scrub. It may also be seen along forest paths, tracks and roads and occasionally in gardens.
The mountain wagtail is... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arusha National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 2 | Lake Manyara National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 3 | Meru National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 4 | Bwindi Impenetrable National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 5 | Gorongosa National Park | 🇲🇿 Mozambique | |
| 6 | Bale Mountains National Park | 🇪🇹 Ethiopia | |
| 7 | Aberdare National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 8 | Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 9 | Nyungwe National Park | 🇷🇼 Rwanda | |
| 10 | Kibale National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 11 | Mikumi National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 12 | Lake Nakuru National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 13 | Virunga National Park | 🇨🇩 Democratic Republic of the Congo | |
| 14 | Ngorongoro Conservation Area | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 15 | Nairobi National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 16 | Volcanoes National Park | 🇷🇼 Rwanda | |
| 17 | Tsavo West National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 18 | iSimangaliso Wetland Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 19 | Kruger National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nairobi | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 2 | Addis Ababa | 🇪🇹 Ethiopia | |
| 3 | Durban | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Mountain Wagtail sighting in Nairobi on a given day, based on 135 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 71st most-seen of the 234 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
June
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Mountain Wagtail in Nairobi on a given day, against under 5% in January, April and November, the lowest months. That is one of Nairobi's driest months, with about 35 mm of rain against 150 mm in April.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Mountain 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.
Yes
Of the 3 cities where we can rate Mountain Wagtail sightings, Nairobi has the highest daily chance: about 10%. Next come Addis Ababa (Ethiopia, under 5%) and Durban (South Africa, under 5%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Mountain Wagtail is recorded against all the birds logged in Nairobi (135 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.
