CreatureData

Forest wagtail

Dendronanthus indicus (Gmelin, 1789)

LCLeast Concernsongbirds

The forest wagtail (Dendronanthus indicus) is a species in the family Motacillidae, order Passeriformes. Recorded adults weigh 15.5 g to 16.4 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Forest wagtail (Dendronanthus indicus)
Photo: Alnus · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the forest wagtail

Weight
15.5 g – 16.4 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
Not recorded
Diet
Invertivoresrc for Diet
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
forestsrc for Habitat
Egg incubation
14 dayssrc for Egg incubation
Young per litter or clutch
4.25 – 4.5src for Young per litter or clutch
Lifestyle
Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
Migration
Migratorysrc for Migration
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

Where does the forest wagtail live?

Not recorded

What is the forest wagtail?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The forest wagtail (Dendronanthus indicus) is a medium-sized passerine bird in the wagtail family Motacillidae. It has a distinctive plumage that sets it apart from other wagtails and has the habit of wagging its tail sideways unlike the usual up and down movements of the other wagtail species. It is the only wagtail species that nests in trees. It is found mainly in forested habitats, breeding in the temperate parts of east Asia and wintering across tropical Asia from India to Indonesia.

From the Wikipedia article “Forest wagtail” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Forest_wagtail&oldid=1344600496), 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 forest wagtail endangered?

The forest wagtail is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.

How is the forest wagtail classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderPasseriformes
  5. familyMotacillidae
  6. genusDendronanthus
  7. SpeciesDendronanthus indicus (Gmelin, 1789)

Synonyms Budytanthus torquatus, Motacilla indica

Other names and names in other languages (44)
  • ذعرة الغاباتArabic
  • বন খঞ্জনBangla
  • cuereta forestalCatalan
  • konipas lesníCzech
  • konipas pralesníCzech
  • siglen goedwigWelsh
  • SkovvipstjertDanish
  • BaumstelzeGerman
  • arbara motaciloEsperanto
  • Hinda dendronantoEsperanto
  • Lavandera forestalSpanish
  • võravästrikEstonian
  • دم جنبانک جنگلیPersian
  • metsävästäräkkiFinnish
  • Bergeronnette de forêtFrench
  • Glasóg na foraoiseIrish
  • נחליאלי היערותHebrew
  • šumska pastiricaCroatian
  • erdei billegetőHungarian
  • Kicuit hutanIndonesian
  • Ballerina di forestaItalian
  • イワミセキレイJapanese
  • 물레새Korean
  • medlaipė kielėLithuanian
  • meža cielavaLatvian
  • കാട്ടുവാലുകുലുക്കിMalayalam
  • Модны цөгцгийMongolian
  • वन टिकटिकेNepali
  • BoomkwikstaartDutch
  • skogerleNorwegian
  • pliszka leśnaPolish
  • alvéola-bilistadaPortuguese
  • alvéola-bilistradaPortuguese
  • alvéola-florestalPortuguese
  • Древесная трясогузкаRussian
  • trasochvost lesnýSlovak
  • Šumska pliskaSerbian
  • trädärlaSwedish
  • นกเด้าลมดงThai
  • Orman KuyruksallayanıTurkish
  • плиска деревнаUkrainian
  • Chìa vôi rừngVietnamese
  • 山鶺鴒Chinese
  • 山鹡鸰Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataIUCN Red List

Relatives of the forest wagtail

Other species in the same family Motacillidae.

LC, Least Concern
Tree pipit (Anthus trivialis)

Tree pipit

Anthus trivialis

Motacillidae

CompareForest wagtail vs White wagtailForest wagtail vs Western yellow wagtailForest wagtail vs Citrine wagtailForest wagtail vs Grey wagtail

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the forest wagtail?

An adult forest wagtail weighs 15.5 g – 16.4 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the forest wagtail endangered?

The forest wagtail is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.

What kind of animal is the forest wagtail?

The forest wagtail (Dendronanthus indicus) belongs to the family Motacillidae in the order Passeriformes.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Forest wagtail (Dendronanthus indicus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/forest-wagtail

MLA

“Forest wagtail (Dendronanthus indicus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/forest-wagtail.

BibTeX
@misc{forest_wagtail_2026,
  title = {Forest wagtail (Dendronanthus indicus)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/forest-wagtail},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}