Wagtail
The wagtails are a group of small passerine birds with long tails which they wag frequently. "Motacilla", the root of the family and main generic name, means “moving tail”. They are in the same family as the pipits and longclaws. They are slender, often colourful, ground–feeding insectivores of open country in the Old World. Wagtails are ground nesters, laying up to six speckled eggss. There are eleven species, all but one in Motacilla. Genus Dendronanthus Forest Wagtail Dendronanthus indicus Genus Motacilla Citrine Wagtail Motacilla citreolaJapanese Wagtail Motacilla grandisWhite-browed Wagtail Motacilla madaraspatensisAfrican Pied Wagtail Motacilla aguimpMountain Wagtail Motacilla claraCape Wagtail Motacilla capensisMadagascar Wagtail Motacilla flaviventrisWhite Wagtail Motacilla alba. Several races, including:* Motacilla alba alba* Motacilla alba yarrellii, the Pied Wagtail.Grey Wagtail Motacilla cinereaBlue-headed Wagtail Motacilla flava. Several races differing in head colour.
The Willie Wagtail (Rhipidura leucophrys) of Australia is unrelated.
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