Animalia Life
Motacilla cinerea
TAXONOMY
Motacilla cinerea Tunstall, 1771, Yorkshire, England. Six subspecies.
OTHER COMMON NAMES
French: Bergeronnette des ruisseaux; German: Gebirgsstelze;
Spanish: Lavandera Cascadeсa.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
7.1–7.5 in (18–19 cm); 0.5–0.8 oz (14–22 g). Gray upperparts;
yellow underparts. Tail longer, more black-and-white than the
yellow wagtail. In summer males develop a bold face pattern
with white stripes and a black bib.
DISTRIBUTION
M. c. patriciae: Azores; M. c. schmitzi: Madeira; M. c. canariensis:
Canary Islands; M. c. cinerea: Northwest Africa and Europe east
to Iran, winters in western Europe, Middle East and Africa
south to Malawi; M. c. melanope: Ural mountains and
Afghanistan east to Amur R.; M. c. robusta: east Asia from
Kamchatka and Okhotsk Sea to northeast China and Japan;
central and eastern Asian birds winter in Pakistan east to
southeast China, and southeast Asia to New Guinea.
HABITAT
Fast-running, rocky upland streams and rivers; also canals, and
lakeshores with stones, trees and dense herbage; in winter also
in lowlands at waterbodies, estuaries and coasts near water.
BEHAVIOR
Territorial when breeding; some defend winter feeding territories;
gregarious only at winter roosts.
FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET
Takes mainly aquatic insects; also tadpoles and small fish; forages
on ground or in water; also flycatches.
REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY
Monogamous; breeds March through May. Cup nest placed on
cliff ledge, in crevice, bank or tree roots; both sexes build.
Three to seven eggs; incubation 11–14 days, by both sexes;
fledging 11–17 days.
CONSERVATION STATUS
Not threatened. Uncommon to common and widespread.
Some populations decreasing, but no significant threats noted.
SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS
None known.
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