Citrine wagtail
Motacilla citreola Pallas, 1776
The citrine wagtail (Motacilla citreola) is a bird in the family Motacillidae, order Passeriformes, part of the songbirds and other perching birds. It is a small bird with a representative adult body mass of 19.11 g and a highest reported value of 21.45 g.
Quick facts about the citrine wagtail
A migratory, terrestrial-foraging carnivore of wetland habitats, it is classed as an aquatic predator and has a geographic range of 16.4 million km². It lays 4.5 eggs per clutch and one clutch per year, and the IUCN Red List assesses it as Least Concern, not a threatened category.
- Weight
- 19.1 g – 21.5 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Diet
- Aquatic predatorsrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- wetlandsrc for Habitat
- Young per litter or clutch
- 4.2 – 4.5src for Young per litter or clutch
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1src for Litters or clutches a year
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Migratorysrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Photos of the citrine wagtail
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the citrine wagtail live?
Not recorded
What is the citrine wagtail?
The citrine wagtail (Motacilla citreola) is a small songbird in the family Motacillidae.
From the Wikipedia article “Citrine wagtail” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Citrine_wagtail&oldid=1380578552), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the citrine wagtail endangered?
The citrine wagtail is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species. What the categories mean.
How is the citrine wagtail classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderPasseriformes
- familyMotacillidae
- genusMotacilla
- SpeciesMotacilla citreola Pallas, 1776
Synonyms Budytes citreola, Budytes citreolus citreolus, Motacila citreola, Motacilla citreola weigoldi, Motacilla citrinella
Other names and names in other languages (77)
- CIWAEnglish
- SitrienkwikkieAfrikaans
- أبوفصادة ليمونيArabic
- ذعرة صفراء الرأسArabic
- Жоўтагаловая пліскаBelarusian
- Жоўтагаловая сітаўкаBelarusian
- Жоўтагаловая плiскаBelarusian
- Лимонена стърчиопашкаBulgarian
- Жълтоглава стърчиопашкаBulgarian
- Kannerez sitroñsBreton
- cuereta citrinaCatalan
- Сарикӓ вуян вӹтлӓнгӹMari
- Сар пуҫлӑ пӑрчӑканChuvash
- Сарă пуçлă пăрчăканChuvash
- konipas citronovýCzech
- konipas citrónovýCzech
- Cytrónowô plëszkaKashubian
- Siglen SitraiddWelsh
- CitronvipstjertDanish
- ZitronenstelzeGerman
- ΚιτροσουσουράδαGreek
- CitronmotaciloEsperanto
- citrona motaciloEsperanto
- Lavandera cetrinaSpanish
- kuldhänilaneEstonian
- Buztanikara zitrinoBasque
- دمجنبانک سیترینPersian
- دم جنبانک لیموییPersian
- sitruunavästäräkkiFinnish
- M‡rierlaFaroese
- mýrierlaFaroese
- Bergeronnette citrineFrench
- Glasóg chiotrónachIrish
- Skibbag chidraneaghManx
- נחליאלי לימוניHebrew
- limunasta pastiricaCroatian
- citrombillegetőHungarian
- Դեղնագլուխ խաղտտնիկArmenian
- MýrerlaIcelandic
- MyrerlaIcelandic
- Cutrettola testagialla orientaleItalian
- Cutrettola testagiallla orientaleItalian
- キガシラセキレイJapanese
- МывэкӀэпысщхьэгъуэжьKabardian
- Сарыбас шақшақайKazakh
- 노랑머리할미새Korean
- geltongalvė kielėLithuanian
- citroncielavaLatvian
- жолтоглава тресиопашкаMacedonian
- മഞ്ഞത്തലയൻ വാലുകുലുക്കിMalayalam
- Шартүрүүт цэгцгийMongolian
- पिवळ्या डोक्याचा धोबीMarathi
- बेसारे टिकटिकेNepali
- CitroenkwikstaartDutch
- sitronerleNorwegian
- ਪੀਲਾ ਮਮੋਲਾPunjabi
- pliszka cytrynowaPolish
- پیلا سر ممولہWestern Panjabi
- هندواڼۍPashto
- alvéola-citrinaPortuguese
- Codobatură cu cap galbenRomanian
- Желтоголовая трясогузкаRussian
- Маҥаас сылгычыайYakut
- SitronbeštorNorthern Sami
- trasochvost žltohlavýSlovak
- citronasta pastiricaSlovenian
- Žutoglava pliskaSerbian
- Жутоглава плискаSerbian
- Жутоглава плиска - Žutoglava pliskaSerbian
- citronärlaSwedish
- นกเด้าลมหัวเหลืองThai
- Sarı Başlı KuyruksallayanTurkish
- Ӵуж йыро йӧгылтӥсьUdmurt
- плиска жовтоголоваUkrainian
- Chìa vôi đầu vàngVietnamese
- 黃頭鶺鴒Chinese
- 黄头鹡鸰Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the citrine wagtail
Other species in the same genus Motacilla.
White wagtail
Motacilla alba
Western yellow wagtail
Motacilla flava
Grey wagtail
Motacilla cinerea
White-browed wagtail
Motacilla maderaspatensis
African pied wagtail
Motacilla aguimp
Japanese wagtail
Motacilla grandis
CompareCitrine wagtail vs White wagtailCitrine wagtail vs Western yellow wagtailCitrine wagtail vs Grey wagtailCitrine wagtail vs White-browed wagtail
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the citrine wagtail?
The citrine wagtail is a bird in the family Motacillidae, grouped with the songbirds and other perching birds in the order Passeriformes.
How much does the citrine wagtail weigh?
Its representative adult body mass is 19.11 g, with a highest reported value of 21.45 g.
What does the citrine wagtail eat?
It is an aquatic predator and a carnivore.
What habitat does the citrine wagtail use?
It uses wetland habitats and forages on the ground (terrestrial lifestyle).
Is the citrine wagtail migratory?
Yes, the citrine wagtail is migratory.
Is the citrine wagtail endangered?
No. The IUCN Red List assesses it as Least Concern, which is not a threatened category.
How many eggs does the citrine wagtail lay?
It lays 4.5 eggs per clutch, with one clutch per year.
Who named the citrine wagtail?
It was named Motacilla citreola by Pallas, 1776.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds · CC BY 4.0 · v7
Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Citrine wagtail (Motacilla citreola). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/citrine-wagtail
“Citrine wagtail (Motacilla citreola).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/citrine-wagtail.
@misc{citrine_wagtail_2026,
title = {Citrine wagtail (Motacilla citreola)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/citrine-wagtail},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}