Long-tailed wagtail

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Long-tailed wagtail
Mountain Wagtail.jpg

Long-tailed wagtail ( Motacilla clara )

Systematics
Order : Passerines (Passeriformes)
Subordination : Songbirds (passeri)
Superfamily : Passeroidea
Family : Stilts and pipiters (Motacillidae)
Genre : Stilts ( Motacilla )
Type : Long-tailed wagtail
Scientific name
Motacilla clara
Sharpe , 1908

The long-tailed wagtail ( Motacilla clara ) is a songbird species from the family of stilts and pipiters , which is native to large parts of sub-Saharan Africa and Ethiopia . It inhabits fast-flowing, rocky and mostly forest-lined waters at altitudes of up to 2000 m. The species is classified as not threatened by the IUCN .

description

With a body length of 17 to 19 cm, the long-tailed wagtail is about the same size as a mountain wagtail and like this a graceful and slender, very long-tailed stilt. It weighs between 14 and 25.5 g. The black beak is lightened gray at the base of the lower mandible, the iris is brown. The feet and legs are brownish flesh-colored to gray-brown. The sexes do not differ.

Adult long-tailed wilts are gray on top. They show a white stripe above the eyes and black reins, a dark area of ​​which extends below the eye, with which a white half-ring under the eye contrasts. The ear covers are sometimes darker gray. The underside is white from the beard stripe, chin and throat, lightly washed gray on the flanks and shows a narrow, black chest band that widens towards the middle. The wing plumage is blackish and shows narrow seams. The shield springs have a wide white border. The under wing coverts are white. The middle three pairs of control springs are predominantly black - the second with a white border and white tip, the third with a white, black-lined inner flag. The outside of the tail, i.e. the three remaining control spring pairs, are broadly white.

Young birds largely or completely lack the chest band, sometimes the underside is tinted yellowish beige.

voice

A loud and metallic chirrip or chissik and a high, drawn-out srieeeh or triederrip can be heard as calls . The monosyllabic alarm call is a fwiep or tschwiep . The varied singing is a quiet, sustained sequence of trilling, melodic passages and short notes.

Distribution and existence

The distribution area of ​​the long-tailed wagtail extends in numerous disjoint sub-areas over large parts of sub-Saharan Africa , where the species, however, is largely absent in parts of the Congo basin and the southwest African desert areas. It also occurs in the highlands of Ethiopia . There may be other occurrences in southern Sudan and Eritrea .

Although there is no information on the world population, the species is not threatened and can be found in suitable habitats almost everywhere within the range. There seems to have been no recent changes in the population. In Ethiopia, the species even occurs in small rivulets in open land areas, which consist almost exclusively of ponds interspersed with algae, and in Addis Ababa it also inhabits heavily polluted river areas.

hikes

In Ethiopia the species is a resident bird , in South and East Africa possibly a barbed bird and it is assumed that the West African populations are migratory birds . The formation of larger groups and sleeping communities were not observed with this type of stilt.

Geographic variation

There is little geographic variation. The southern subspecies M. c. torrentium differs from the nominate form in that it has a relatively longer tail, shorter wing dimensions, and wide white hems on the feathers. The subspecies M. c. chapini is darker on top. Its independent status is controversial, some authors suspect that it cannot really be distinguished from torrentium .

habitat

The long-tailed wagtail occurs mainly in fast-flowing, rock- and forest-lined waters from the lowlands to heights of at least 2000 m. The presence of small waterfalls , rocky rapids and whitewater areas is important . Where the widow wagtail is absent, the species also seems to colonize more open stretches of water.

nutrition

The food of the mountain wagtail consists primarily of smaller insects and their larval stages such as Diptera , day-old , stone and Caddisflies , small vials and butterflies or beetles . But other invertebrates , small fish and tadpoles are also caught occasionally. The diet is similar to that of the gray wagtail. The food is mainly looked for on the ground, sometimes read from the surface while wading in the water. Every now and then jumps or catch flights are inserted.

Reproduction

The long-tailed wagtail is monogamous and very territorial. The size of an area is between 0.2 and 1 km river length and this is vehemently defended against conspecifics. However, wintering mountain wagtails are sometimes tolerated.

The breeding season varies depending on the geographical location. In Ethiopia, the breeding season consists of two periods between January and April and between September and November. At the equator, the species breeds all year round and in the southern hemisphere, the breeding seasons are in two sections between March and May and between July and December.

The nest stands on rock edges, in washouts or in the root system, sometimes also on bridges, more rarely up to 50 m from the water on human structures or other striking structures. Often the same nesting place is used in the following year, sometimes the old nest is only repaired. It consists of a coarse, often quite voluminous substructure of leaves, grass, moss and roots, in which a finely crafted, deep bowl of roots and hair is built, and is built by both sexes. The clutch consists of 1–4, mostly 2–3 eggs and is incubated by both parents for 13–14 days. Both sexes also participate in the rearing of the young. The nestling period is 14–16 days, but the young are fed up to 30 days after they have escaped, sometimes even longer with second broods.

literature

  • J. del Hoyo, A. Elliot, D. Christie (Eds.): Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 9: Cotingas to Pipits and Wagtails . Lynx Edicions 2004, ISBN 8487334695

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