# Grey wagtail (*Motacilla cinerea*)

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

The grey wagtail (Motacilla cinerea), also called the Gray wagtail, is a bird in the songbirds and other perching birds subgroup, belonging to the family Motacillidae in the order Passeriformes. It is a small bird with an adult body mass of 17.15 g, up to 17.6 g, and a wingspan of 26 cm. The grey wagtail is an invertivore of riverine habitat that forages on the ground and is partially migratory. It lays 4.98 eggs per clutch, with 2 clutches per year and an incubation period of 13 days, and it is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 17.2 g – 17.6 g |
| Length | 18 cm – 19 cm |
| Wingspan | 26 cm |
| Lifespan | 8 years |
| Diet | Invertivore |
| Main food | Not recorded |
| Habitat | riverine |
| Egg incubation | 13 days |
| Young per litter or clutch | 4.6 – 4.98 |
| Age at maturity | 12 months |
| Litters or clutches a year | 2 |
| Lifestyle | Terrestrial |
| Migration | Partial |
| 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 cinerea* Tunstall, 1771

Synonyms: *Calobates cinerea*, *Motacila cinerea*, *Motacilla boarula*, *Motacilla boarula*, *Motacilla caspica*, *Motacilla caspica grisea*, *Motacilla cinerea caspica*, *Motacilla voarula*, *Parus caspicus*

## Common questions

### What kind of animal is the grey wagtail?

The grey wagtail is a bird in the songbirds and other perching birds subgroup. It belongs to the family Motacillidae and the order Passeriformes.

### How much does a grey wagtail weigh?

An adult Grey wagtail weighs 17.15 g, with values up to 17.6 g reported. Its wingspan is 26 cm.

### What does the grey wagtail eat?

The grey wagtail is an invertivore, placing it at the carnivore trophic level.

### What habitat does the grey wagtail live in?

The grey wagtail lives in riverine habitat and forages on the ground.

### Is the grey wagtail endangered?

No. The grey wagtail is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.

### How long does a grey wagtail live?

The grey wagtail has a lifespan of 8 years, and it reaches sexual maturity at 1 year.

### How many eggs does the grey wagtail lay?

The grey wagtail lays 4.98 eggs per clutch and has 2 clutches per year. The eggs are incubated for 13 days.

### Who named the grey wagtail?

The grey wagtail was named Motacilla cinerea by Tunstall, 1771.

## 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: Grey wagtail (Motacilla cinerea). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/grey-wagtail