# Citrine wagtail (*Motacilla citreola*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/citrine-wagtail  
Data as of: 2026-11-11

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. 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.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 19.1 g – 21.5 g |
| Length | Not recorded |
| Lifespan | Not recorded |
| Diet | Aquatic predator |
| Main food | Not recorded |
| Habitat | wetland |
| Young per litter or clutch | 4.2 – 4.5 |
| Litters or clutches a year | 1 |
| Lifestyle | Terrestrial |
| Migration | Migratory |
| Conservation status | Least Concern (IUCN) |
| Countries on record | Not recorded |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Aves
- order: Passeriformes
- family: Motacillidae
- genus: Motacilla
- species: *Motacilla citreola* Pallas, 1776

Synonyms: *Budytes citreola*, *Budytes citreolus citreolus*, *Motacila citreola*, *Motacilla citreola weigoldi*, *Motacilla citrinella*

## Common questions

### 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

- [An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1), 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](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7), 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](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), 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](https://commons.wikimedia.org), 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](https://www.wikidata.org), CC0 1.0, 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service).
- [Wikipedia (English)](https://en.wikipedia.org), 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).

Cite as: Citrine wagtail (Motacilla citreola). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/citrine-wagtail