Motacilla cinerea
A slender, yellow-bellied wagtail of fast-flowing water.
Size: 18-19 cm | Habitat: Pond, Lake & River Birds | Season: All year
Despite its name, the grey wagtail is strikingly yellow beneath, with a blue-grey back, long tail, and (in breeding males) a black throat. It's closely tied to flowing water, from streams and rivers to weirs and mill races.
Blue-grey back · lemon-yellow underparts, brightest under the tail · very long, constantly bobbing tail · black throat (breeding male) · slender build
Grey wagtails dash and flit around rocks, weirs, and riverbanks, making short flycatching sallies after insects and constantly pumping their long tail up and down. They favour fast, well-oxygenated water more than the pied wagtail.
Despite being named 'grey', the grey wagtail is actually the most colourful of Britain's wagtails, with underparts a far brighter yellow than the aptly-named yellow wagtail's close relatives might suggest.
The Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea) is, somewhat confusingly, the most colourful of Britain's wagtails, with a blue-grey back offset by lemon-yellow underparts that are brightest beneath the tail, and a black throat in breeding males.
True to its name, the grey wagtail constantly bobs its unusually long tail up and down while foraging, dashing along rocks and weirs and making short aerial sallies to snatch flies directly from the air above fast-flowing streams and rivers — a habitat preference that sets it apart from the more generalist pied wagtail.
Understanding the grey wagtail's close tie to clean, fast-flowing water makes it a useful indicator species: where grey wagtails thrive, it's usually a sign that a stream's water quality and insect life are in reasonably good health.
🟠 Conservation status: Amber (UK Birds of Conservation Concern 5)
Amber-listed. Grey wagtail numbers have declined across the UK, likely linked to water quality and invertebrate abundance in the fast-flowing streams it depends on, as well as sensitivity to hard winters. Because it relies so heavily on clean, well-oxygenated water, the grey wagtail is considered a useful indicator of freshwater habitat health.