Grey wagtail

Motacilla cinerea

The Grey wagtail (Motacilla cinerea) is a bird found in United Kingdom, Sweden, Spain, France, India, Taiwan, and 5 more countries. Fast streams and waterfalls across Europe and Asia. It eats insects and other small invertebrates. The IUCN Red List lists it as Least Concern.

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Scientific name	Motacilla cinerea
Region	Europe
Found in	United Kingdom, Sweden, Spain, France, India, Taiwan, and 5 more countries

🏡 Where the Grey wagtail lives

Fast streams and waterfalls across Europe and Asia.

🍽️ What it eats

🐛 Insects & bugs100%

A rough guide to its diet over a year. Source: EltonTraits (Wilman et al. 2014).

Conservation status

LCNTVUENCREWEX

Least ConcernThere are plenty of these birds.

💡 It bobs its long tail up and down all the time.

Hear the Grey wagtail

Recorded by Anthony McGeehan (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0), xeno-canto XC1186958. Trimmed to a few seconds.

Questions about the Grey wagtail

Where does the Grey wagtail live?

The Grey wagtail lives in United Kingdom, Sweden, Spain, France, India, Taiwan, and 5 more countries. Fast streams and waterfalls across Europe and Asia.

What does the Grey wagtail eat?

insects and other small invertebrates (about 100%). These are rough shares of its diet over a year, from the EltonTraits database.

Is the Grey wagtail endangered?

There are plenty of these birds. Its IUCN Red List category is Least Concern.

More birds from Europe

Sources: IUCN Red List (via Wikidata), EltonTraits 1.0 (Wilman et al. 2014), GBIF sightings for countries, Wikipedia. Last updated 2026-10-19.