Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea)

OTHER NAMES: Barley Bird
Latin Etymology: Motacilla ("wagtail") cinerea ("ash-grey")

  Adult Grey Wagtail (subspecies M. c. cinerea) at Geddington, Northants - October 2009

Featured Subspecies: Motacilla cinerea cinerea
Weight: 12-26g  /  Length: 16.5cm  /  Wingspan: 25-30cm

UK AMBER LIST / IUCN Red List: Least Concern

A fairly common wagtail, although no way near as prevalent as the very common pied wagtail. The grey wagtail is identified by it's grey chest and yellow chest, compared against the complete greyscale of the pied and the complete yellow of the yellow. It shouldn't be that hard to find, I've occassionally seen it in urban areas, but more often along streams and rivers. All the wagtails are comparatively bold so this shouldn't be too difficult a species.

Related Species:
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Motacillidae
Genus: Motacilla
Subspecies: M. c. cinerea, M. c. patriciae, M. c. schmitzi, M. c. melanope, M. c. robusta, M. c. canariensis    

- Sighting Locations -

UNITED KINGDOM - Fairly common resident (38,000 pairs)

 - Seen in several locations including Rutland Water, Rainham Marshes, Pitsford Reservoir and Geddington.

Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red List, RSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto