The

wagtail Wagtails are a group of passerine birds that form the genus ''Motacilla'' in the family Motacillidae. The common name and genus name are derived from their characteristic tail pumping behaviour. Together with the pipits and longclaws they form ...

s, longclaws, and pipits are a

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

, Motacillidae, of small

passerine A passerine () is any bird of the order Passeriformes (; from Latin 'sparrow' and '-shaped') which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds, passerines generally have an anisodactyl arrangement of their ...

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...

s with medium to long tails. Around 70 species occur in five

genera Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family as used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In binomial nomenclature, the genus name forms the first part of the binomial s ...

. The longclaws are entirely restricted to the

Afrotropics The Afrotropical realm is one of the Earth's eight biogeographic realms. It includes Sub-Saharan Africa, the southern Arabian Peninsula, the island of Madagascar, and the islands of the western Indian Ocean. It was formerly known as the Ethiopi ...

, and the wagtails are predominantly found in Europe, Africa, and Asia, with two species migrating and breeding in

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

. The pipits have the most

cosmopolitan distribution In biogeography, a cosmopolitan distribution is the range of a taxon that extends across most or all of the surface of the Earth, in appropriate habitats; most cosmopolitan species are known to be highly adaptable to a range of climatic and en ...

, being found mostly in the Old World, but occurring also in the Americas and oceanic islands such as

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

and the

Falklands The Falkland Islands (; ), commonly referred to as The Falklands, is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and from Cape Du ...

. Two African species, the yellow-breasted pipit and Sharpe's longclaw, are sometimes placed in a separate seventh genus, '' Hemimacronyx'', which is closely related to the longclaws. Most motacillids are ground-feeding insectivores of slightly open country. They occupy almost all available habitats, from the shore to high mountains. Wagtails prefer wetter habitats than the pipits. A few species use forests, including the

forest wagtail 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 usua ...

, and other species use forested mountain streams, such as the grey wagtail or the mountain wagtail. Motacillids take a wide range of invertebrate prey: insects are the most commonly taken, but also including spiders, worms, and small aquatic molluscs and

arthropods Arthropods ( ) are invertebrates in the phylum Arthropoda. They possess an arthropod exoskeleton, exoskeleton with a cuticle made of chitin, often Mineralization (biology), mineralised with calcium carbonate, a body with differentiated (Metam ...

. All species seem to be fairly catholic in their diets, and the most commonly taken prey for any particular species or population usually reflects local availability. With the exception of the forest wagtail, they nest on the ground, laying up to six speckled eggs.

Description

Wagtails, pipits, and longclaws are slender, small to medium-sized passerines, ranging from in length, with short necks and long tails. They have long, pale legs with long toes and claws, particularly the hind toe, which can be up to 4 cm in length in some longclaws. No

sexual dimorphism Sexual dimorphism is the condition where sexes of the same species exhibit different Morphology (biology), morphological characteristics, including characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most dioecy, di ...

in size is seen. Overall, the robust longclaws are larger than the pipits and wagtails. Longclaws can weigh as much as 64 g, as in Fülleborn's longclaw, whereas the weight range for pipits and wagtails is 15–31 g, with the smallest species being perhaps the yellowish pipit. The

plumage Plumage () is a layer of feathers that covers a bird and the pattern, colour, and arrangement of those feathers. The pattern and colours of plumage differ between species and subspecies and may vary with age classes. Within species, there can b ...

of most pipits is dull brown and reminiscent of the

lark Larks are passerine birds of the family Alaudidae. Larks have a cosmopolitan distribution with the largest number of species occurring in Africa. Only a single species, the horned lark, occurs in North America, and only Horsfield's bush lark occ ...

s, although some species have brighter plumages, particularly the golden pipit of north-east Africa. The adult male longclaws have brightly coloured undersides. The wagtails often have striking plumage, including grey, black, white, and yellow.

Phylogeny

molecular phylogenetic Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to ...

study published in 2019 sampled 56 of the 68 recognised species in the family Motacillidae and found that the species formed six major

clades In biology, a clade (), also known as a monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that is composed of a common ancestor and all of its descendants. Clades are the fundamental unit of cladistics, a modern approach to taxonomy ...

. The pipit genus ''

Anthus The pipits are a Cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan genus, ''Anthus'', of small passerine birds with medium to long tails. Along with the wagtails and longclaws, the pipits make up the family (biology), family Motacillidae. The genus is wid ...

'' was

paraphyletic Paraphyly is a taxonomic term describing a grouping that consists of the grouping's last common ancestor and some but not all of its descendant lineages. The grouping is said to be paraphyletic ''with respect to'' the excluded subgroups. In co ...

with respect to the longclaw genus '' Macronyx''. The striped pipit (''Anthus lineiventris'') and the African rock pipit (''Anthus crenatus'') were nested with the longclaws in ''Macronyx''. The

type species In International_Code_of_Zoological_Nomenclature, zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the spe ...

of ''Anthus'', the

meadow pipit The meadow pipit (''Anthus pratensis'') is a small passerine bird that breeds throughout much of the Palearctic, from south-eastern Greenland and Iceland east to just east of the Ural Mountains in Russia, and south to central France and Romania; ...

, was nested with the other Palearctic species in Clade 2.

Species and genera

Family: Motacillidae * Genus ''Dendronanthus'' **

Forest wagtail 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 usua ...

, '' Dendronanthus indicus'' * Genus '' Motacilla'': typical wagtails ** Western yellow wagtail, ''Motacilla flava'' – possibly

** Eastern yellow wagtail, ''Motacilla tschutschensis'' – possibly paraphyletic ** Citrine wagtail, ''Motacilla citreola'' – possibly

** Cape wagtail, ''Motacilla capensis'' ** Madagascar wagtail, ''Motacilla flaviventris'' ** Grey wagtail, ''Motacilla cinerea'' ** Mountain wagtail, ''Motacilla clara'' ** White wagtail, ''Motacilla alba'' – possibly paraphyletic *** Pied wagtail, ''Motacilla alba yarrellii'' *** Black-backed wagtail, ''Motacilla alba lugens'' ** African pied wagtail, ''Motacilla aguimp'' ** Mekong wagtail, ''Motacilla samveasnae'' ** Japanese wagtail, ''Motacilla grandis'' ** White-browed wagtail, ''Motacilla madaraspatensis'' ** São Tomé shorttail ''Motacilla bocagii'' * Genus ''Tmetothylacus'' ** Golden pipit, ''Tmetothylacus tenellus'' * Genus '' Macronyx'': longclaws ** Cape longclaw, ''Macronyx capensis'' ** Yellow-throated longclaw, ''Macronyx croceus'' ** Fülleborn's longclaw, ''Macronyx fuellebornii '' ** Sharpe's longclaw, ''Macronyx sharpei'' - sometimes placed in genus '' Hemimacronyx'' ** Abyssinian longclaw, ''Macronyx flavicollis'' ** Pangani longclaw, ''Macronyx aurantiigula'' ** Rosy-throated longclaw, ''Macronyx ameliae'' ** Grimwood's longclaw, ''Macronyx grimwoodi'' * Genus ''

'': typical pipits **

Richard's pipit Richard's pipit (''Anthus richardi'') is a medium-sized passerine bird which breeds in open grasslands in the East Palearctic. It is a long-distance bird migration, migrant moving to open lowlands in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. It ...

''Anthus richardi'' **

Paddyfield pipit The paddyfield pipit or Oriental pipit (''Anthus rufulus'') is a small passerine bird in the pipit and wagtail family. It is a resident (non- migratory) breeder in open scrub, grassland and cultivation in southern Asia east to the Philippines. Al ...

''Anthus rufulus'' **

Australian pipit The Australian pipit (''Anthus australis'') is a fairly small passerine bird of open country in Australia and New Guinea. It belongs to the pipit genus ''Anthus'' in the family Motacillidae. Description It is a slender bird, 16 to 19 cm l ...

''Anthus australis'' **

New Zealand pipit The New Zealand pipit (''Anthus novaeseelandiae'') is a fairly small passerine bird of open country in New Zealand and outlying islands. It belongs to the pipit genus ''Anthus'' in the family Motacillidae. It was formerly lumped together with ...

''Anthus novaeseelandiae'' **

African pipit The African pipit (''Anthus cinnamomeus'') is a fairly small passerine bird belonging to the pipit genus ''Anthus'' in the family Motacillidae. It is also known as the grassveld pipit or grassland pipit. It was formerly lumped together with the ...

''Anthus cinnamomeus'' ** Mountain pipit ''Anthus hoeschi'' ** Blyth's pipit ''Anthus godlewskii'' ** Tawny pipit ''Anthus campestris'' ** Long-billed pipit ''Anthus similis'' ** Nicholson's pipit ''Anthus nicholsoni'' ** Wood pipit ''Anthus nyassae'' ** Buffy pipit ''Anthus vaalensis'' ** Plain-backed pipit ''Anthus leucophrys'' ** Long-legged pipit, ''Anthus pallidiventris'' **

Meadow pipit The meadow pipit (''Anthus pratensis'') is a small passerine bird that breeds throughout much of the Palearctic, from south-eastern Greenland and Iceland east to just east of the Ural Mountains in Russia, and south to central France and Romania; ...

''Anthus pratensis'' ** Tree pipit ''Anthus trivialis'' **

Olive-backed pipit The olive-backed pipit (''Anthus hodgsoni'') is a small passerine bird of the pipit (''Anthus'') genus, which breeds across southern, north central and eastern Asia, as well as in the north-eastern European Russia. It is a long-distance bird migr ...

''Anthus hodgsoni'' ** Pechora pipit ''Anthus gustavi'' ** Rosy pipit ''Anthus roseatus'' ** Red-throated pipit ''Anthus cervinus'' ** Buff-bellied pipit ''Anthus rubescens'' ** Water pipit ''Anthus spinoletta'' ** European rock pipit ''Anthus petrosus'' **

Nilgiri pipit The Nilgiri pipit (''Anthus nilghiriensis'') is a distinctive species of pipit that is endemic to the high altitude hills of southern India. Richer brown in colour than other pipits in the region, it is distinctive in having the streaking on th ...

''Anthus nilghiriensis'' ** Upland pipit ''Anthus sylvanus'' **

Berthelot's pipit Berthelot's pipit (''Anthus berthelotii'') is a small passerine bird which breeds in Madeira islands, Madeira and the Canary Islands. It is a common resident in both archipelagos. Berthelot's pipit is found in open country. The nest is on the ...

''Anthus berthelotii'' ** Striped pipit ''Anthus lineiventris'' ** African rock pipit ''Anthus crenatus'' ** Short-tailed pipit ''Anthus brachyurus'' ** Bushveld pipit ''Anthus caffer'' ** Sokoke pipit ''Anthus sokokensis'' ** Malindi pipit ''Anthus melindae'' ** Yellow-breasted pipit ''Anthus chloris'' - sometimes placed in genus ''Hemimacronyx'' ** Alpine pipit ''Anthus gutturalis'' ** Sprague's pipit ''Anthus spragueii'' ** Yellowish pipit ''Anthus chii'' ** Short-billed pipit ''Anthus furcatus'' ** Pampas pipit ''Anthus chacoensis'' ** Correndera pipit ''Anthus correndera'' ** South Georgia pipit ''Anthus antarcticus'' ** Ochre-breasted pipit ''Anthus nattereri'' ** Hellmayr's pipit ''Anthus hellmayri'' ** Paramo pipit ''Anthus bogotensis'' ** Madanga ''Anthus ruficollis''

References

External links

Motacillidae videos
on the Internet Bird Collection {{Authority control Bird families