Motacilla capensis
Silhouette: Martin Bulla, based on Ren Hathway's illustration · PhyloPic
In 3 days <5% in a week ~10%
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 →
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Cape Wagtail sighting in Lake Nakuru National Park on a given day, based on 8 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 319th most-seen of the 369 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, and over a week to about 10%, if each day is a fresh chance.
Any time of year
In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Cape Wagtail in Lake Nakuru National Park on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.
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.
24th of 25
Of the 25 parks where we can rate Cape Wagtail sightings, Lake Nakuru National Park ranks 24th at under 5%. 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.
Same genus: Motacilla
The closest relatives of the Cape Wagtail that you can see in Lake Nakuru National Park (genus Motacilla, Wagtails) are African Pied Wagtail (about 30%) and Western Yellow Wagtail (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Cape Wagtail is recorded against all the birds logged in Lake Nakuru National Park (8 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.
