Motacilla capensis
Silhouette: Martin Bulla, based on Ren Hathway's illustration · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~60%
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 →
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Cape Wagtail sighting in iSimangaliso Wetland Park on a given day, based on 215 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 124th most-seen of the 351 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 60%, if each day is a fresh chance.
January and May–August
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Cape Wagtail in iSimangaliso Wetland Park on a given day, against under 5% in March, 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.
12th of 25
Of the 25 parks where we can rate Cape Wagtail sightings, iSimangaliso Wetland Park ranks 12th at about 10%. The best odds are in West Coast National Park (South Africa, about 70%), De Hoop Nature Reserve (South Africa, about 60%) and Addo Elephant National Park (South Africa, about 60%). All parks ranked.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Cape Wagtail is recorded against all the birds logged in iSimangaliso Wetland Park (215 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), 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.
