Willie wagtail

Rhipidura leucophrys

The Willie wagtail (Rhipidura leucophrys) is a bird found in Australia. Gardens, farms and open land across Australia and New Guinea. It eats insects and other small invertebrates, reptiles and frogs and fish. The IUCN Red List lists it as Least Concern.

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Scientific name	Rhipidura leucophrys
Region	Australia & Oceania
Found in	Australia

🏡 Where the Willie wagtail lives

Gardens, farms and open land across Australia and New Guinea.

🍽️ What it eats

🐛 Insects & bugs70%
🦎 Reptiles & frogs10%
🐟 Fish10%
🌰 Seeds & nuts10%

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 wags its tail side to side and sings even at night.

Hear the Willie wagtail

Recorded by Étienne Leroy (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0), xeno-canto XC1069909. Trimmed to a few seconds.

Questions about the Willie wagtail

Where does the Willie wagtail live?

The Willie wagtail lives in Australia. Gardens, farms and open land across Australia and New Guinea.

What does the Willie wagtail eat?

insects and other small invertebrates (about 70%), reptiles and frogs (about 10%), fish (about 10%), seeds and nuts (about 10%). These are rough shares of its diet over a year, from the EltonTraits database.

Is the Willie wagtail endangered?

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

More birds from Australia & Oceania

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