Mountain Wagtail
A species of Wagtails Scientific name : Motacilla clara Genus : Wagtails
Mountain Wagtail, A species of Wagtails
Botanical name: Motacilla clara
Genus: Wagtails
Content
Description General Info
Description
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. 
Size
15 - 24 cm
Nest Placement
Ground
Feeding Habits
Mountain Wagtail predominantly feeds on a variety of insects, including flies, mayflies, and dragonfly nymphs, accounting for over half of its diet. It employs diverse foraging techniques such as darting or wading in shallow waters and flycatching over rivers to capture prey.
Habitat
Mountain Wagtail typically inhabits fast-flowing, rocky streams and rivers where there are waterfalls and exposed rocks, primarily in montane and hilly regions. This species thrives in areas with a steep gradient, ensuring rushing water, and can be found at altitudes up to 2000 meters. The preferred environment includes surrounding forest, woodland, or dense scrub, although mountain Wagtail can sometimes venture into open landscapes, forest paths, and even human-altered areas like gardens, particularly where similar species are not present.
Dite type
Insectivorous
General Info
Feeding Habits
Bird food type
Distribution Area
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.
Species Status
Not globally threatened.
Scientific Classification
Phylum
Chordates Class
Birds Order
Perching birds Family
Wagtails Genus
Wagtails Species
Mountain Wagtail 
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