African Pied Wagtail

African Pied Wagtail

Motacilla aguimp

Silhouette: Martin Bulla, based on Ren Hathway's illustration · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability ~30% · Possible
at Nyungwe National Park

In 3 days ~70% in a week ~90%

448 Verified sightings at Nyungwe National Park From 2019 to 2026
15,302 In all 47 parks
March Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the African Pied Wagtail

The African pied wagtail, or African wagtail, (Motacilla aguimp) is a species of bird in the family Motacillidae. A striking black and white wagtail with black upperparts contrasting with white underparts, it has a white supercilium and a white patch in the folded wing. Juvenile birds are greyer, while birds of the nominate subspecies show grey flanks. They are 20 cm (7.9 in) long.

The African pied wagtail is found in sub-Saharan Africa from the Eastern Cape north to extreme southern Egypt and from Guinea to western Eritrea and Somalia. It is a vagrant to Burkina Faso, Gambia, Mauritania,Uganda and the Western Cape.

The African pied wagtail inhabits subtropical or tropical, seasonally wet or flooded, lowland grassland, rivers, and sometimes freshwater marshes. In some areas, it is commensal with humans in towns and villages. In Malawi, African pied wagtails start breeding before the rains and continue to breed into the rainy season; they breed during six months, peaking in March and October. Both the males and females participate in nest building, but only the females incubate, and both sexes feed the young. The mean... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Call0:07

Kenya · 2026

© Ding Li Yong · XC1177168 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Song0:28

Kenya · 2024

© Peter Boesman · XC948280 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Imitation0:51

South Africa · 2007

© Nature sounds by Simply Birding · XC646518 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 South Luangwa National Park 🇿🇲 Zambia
~50%
2 Lower Zambezi National Park 🇿🇲 Zambia
~50%
3 Nairobi National Park 🇰🇪 Kenya
~50%
4 Gonarezhou National Park 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe
~50%
5 Niokolo-Koba National Park 🇸🇳 Senegal
~50%
6 Akagera National Park 🇷🇼 Rwanda
~50%
7 Kafue National Park 🇿🇲 Zambia
~50%
8 Volcanoes National Park 🇷🇼 Rwanda
~50%
9 Lake Manyara National Park 🇹🇿 Tanzania
~40%
10 Lake Mburo National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
~40%
11 Kruger National Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
~40%
12 Mana Pools National Park 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe
~40%
13 uMkhuze Game Reserve 🇿🇦 South Africa
~40%
14 iSimangaliso Wetland Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
~40%
15 Liwonde National Park 🇲🇼 Malawi
~40%
16 Kibale National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
~30%
17 Meru National Park 🇰🇪 Kenya
~30%
18 Nyungwe National Park 🇷🇼 Rwanda
~30%
19 Bwindi Impenetrable National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
~30%
20 Virunga National Park 🇨🇩 Democratic Republic of the Congo
~30%
21 Queen Elizabeth National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
~30%
22 Chobe National Park 🇧🇼 Botswana
~30%
23 Murchison Falls National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
~30%
24 Lake Nakuru National Park 🇰🇪 Kenya
~30%
25 Arusha National Park 🇹🇿 Tanzania
~30%
26 Amboseli National Park 🇰🇪 Kenya
~30%
27 Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
~20%
28 Tsavo East National Park 🇰🇪 Kenya
~20%
29 Masai Mara National Reserve 🇰🇪 Kenya
~20%
30 Serengeti National Park 🇹🇿 Tanzania
~20%
31 Tsavo West National Park 🇰🇪 Kenya
~20%
32 Ruaha National Park 🇹🇿 Tanzania
~20%
33 Mkomazi National Park 🇹🇿 Tanzania
~20%
34 Awash National Park 🇪🇹 Ethiopia
~20%
35 Aberdare National Park 🇰🇪 Kenya
~20%
36 Mikumi National Park 🇹🇿 Tanzania
~10%
37 Ngorongoro Conservation Area 🇹🇿 Tanzania
~10%
38 Tarangire National Park 🇹🇿 Tanzania
~10%
39 Pilanesberg National Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
~10%
40 Samburu National Reserve 🇰🇪 Kenya
~10%
41 Hwange National Park 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe
~10%
42 Gorongosa National Park 🇲🇿 Mozambique
~10%
43 Semuliki National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
~10%
44 Addo Elephant National Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
~10%
45 Kidepo Valley National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
<5%
46 Moremi Game Reserve 🇧🇼 Botswana
<5%
47 Garden Route National Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Nairobi 🇰🇪 Kenya
~60%
2 Lusaka 🇿🇲 Zambia
~50%
3 Mombasa 🇰🇪 Kenya
~30%
4 Bujumbura 🇧🇮 Burundi
~20%
5 Maputo 🇲🇿 Mozambique
~20%
6 Accra 🇬🇭 Ghana
~20%
7 Brazzaville 🇨🇬 Republic of the Congo
~20%
8 Kampala 🇺🇬 Uganda
~20%
9 Durban 🇿🇦 South Africa
~10%
10 Kigali 🇷🇼 Rwanda
~10%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing an African Pied Wagtail in Nyungwe National Park?

Possible

About 30% of wildlife watchers report an African Pied Wagtail sighting in Nyungwe National Park on a given day, based on 448 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 32nd most-seen of the 252 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 70%, and over a week to about 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see an African Pied Wagtail in Nyungwe National Park?

March, May and August

In those months about 40% of wildlife watchers report an African Pied Wagtail in Nyungwe National Park on a given day, against about 20% in January, July and November, the lowest months.

What time of day is best to see an African Pied Wagtail?

Between 9 am and noon

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most African Pied 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.

Where does the African Pied Wagtail sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the African Pied Wagtail is recorded against all the birds logged in Nyungwe National Park (448 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.

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