Cape Wagtail

Afrikaans name: Gewone Kwikkie

The Cape Wagtail is a common garden bird

Photo © Steven Herbert

Motacilla capensis

The Cape Wagtail is a well-known bird around South Africa as it is often found in gardens and parks.

Wagtails are related to pipits and longclaws.

The Cape Wagtail is more drably coloured than the other wagtails found in South Africa.

This bird is often seen patrolling areas of short grass, like lawns, looking for insects which form the main part of its diet.

Photo © Steven Herbert

They often bob they tails up and down which is the characteristic that gives these birds their common name.

The Cape Wagtail likes to nest in cracks, or crevices, in either natural or man-made habitats. Up to 7 eggs may be laid.

Roberts Birds Names by Edition

Edition	Roberts nr	Scientific name
1st	686	Psomophilus capensis capensis
2nd	686	Motacilla capensis
3rd	686	Motacilla capensis
4th	686	Motacilla capensis
5th	713	Motacilla capensis
6th	713	Motacilla capensis
7th	907	Motacilla capensis

Edition	Roberts nr	English name
1st	686	Cape Wagtail
2nd	686	Cape Wagtail
3rd	686	Cape Wagtail
4th	686	Cape Wagtail
5th	713	Cape Wagtail
6th	713	Cape Wagtail
7th	907	Cape Wagtail

Edition	Roberts nr	Afrikaans name
1st	686	Kaapse-kwikkie
2nd	686	Kwikkie
3rd	686	Kwikkie
4th	686	Kwikkie
5th	713	Gewone Kwikkie
6th	713	Gewone Kwikkie
7th	907	Gewone Kwikkie

References and further reading

The Birds of South Africa - 1st Edition - Author: Dr. Austin Roberts - Published: 1949 - Page: 290

The Sandton Field Guide - Author: Sandton Nature Conservation Society - Published: 1982 - Page: 60

Two Oceans - Author: Branch, Griffiths, Branch and Beckley - Published: 2010 - Page: 348

Wild About Johannesburg - Author: Duncan Butchart - Published: 1995 - Page: 51

Wildlife of Southern Africa - Author: Martin Withers and David Hosking - Published: 2011 - Page: 142

Wildlife of the Cape Peninsula - Author: Duncan Butchart - Published: 2001 - Page: 59

Sasol Birds of Southern Africa - 1st Edition - Author: Ian Sinclair et al. - Published: 1993 - Page: 350

Sasol Birds of Southern Africa - 4th Edition - Author: Ian Sinclair et al. - Published: 2011 - Page: 380

Southern African Bird Names Explained - Author: Charles Clinning - Published: 1989 - Page: 90

Southern African Wildlife - Author: Reader s Digest - Published: 1989 - Page: 147

The Birds of South Africa - Author: Hazel Stokes - Published: 1979 - Page: 39

Roberts Birds of Southern Africa - 6th Edition - Author: Gordon Lindsay Maclean - Published: 1993 - Page: 622

Roberts Birds of Southern Africa - 5th Edition - Author: Gordon Lindsay Maclean - Published: 1985 - Page: 623

Roberts Bird Guide - Author: Hugh Chittenden - Published: 2007 - Page: 340

Roberts Birds of South Africa - 2nd edition - Author: McLachlan and Liversidge - Published: 1957 - Page: 368

Roberts Birds of South Africa - 3rd Edition - Author: McLachlan and Liversidge - Published: 1975 - Page: 476

Roberts Birds of South Africa - 4th Edition - Author: McLachlan and Liversidge - Published: 1981 - Page: 489

Newman s Birds of Southern Africa - 1st Edition - Author: Ken Newman - Published: 1984 - Page: 294

Newman s Birds of Southern Africa - 7th Edition - Author: Ken Newman - Published: 2000 - Page: 294

Newman s Garden Birds - Author: Ken Newman - Published: 1991 - Page: 66

Meeting with Birds - Author: Tom Spence - Published: 1986 - Page: 91

More Garden Birds of Southern Africa - Author: P. Ginn & G. McIlleron - Published: 1981 - Page: 24

Ian Sinclair s Field Guide to the Birds of Southern Africa - 2nd Edition - Author: Ian Sinclair - Published: 1988 - Page: 270

Know your Garden Birds - Author: - Published: 0 - Page: 37

Garden Birds in South Africa - Author: Duncan Butchart - Published: 2017 - Page: 109

Geoff Lockwood s Garden Birds of Southern Africa - Author: Geoff Lockwood - Published: 0 - Page: 99

Field Guide to the Cradle of Humankind - Author: B. Hilton-Barber & Prof. L. R. Berger - Published: 2004 - Page: 186

Freshwater Life - Author: C. Griffiths, J. Day & M. Picker - Published: 2015 - Page: 62

Common Birds of the North Coast - Author: Bing Comrie - Published: 2005 - Page: 64

Everyone s Guide to South African Birds - Author: John Sinclair and John Mendelsohn - Published: 1987 - Page: 23

Field Guide to Fynbos Fauna - Author: Cliff & Suretha Dorse - Published: 2023 - Page: 198

Field Guide to the Birds of Kruger National Park - Author: Ian Sinclair and Ian Whyte - Published: 1991 - Page: 182

Birds of the Transvaal - Author: Tarboton, Kemp and Kemp - Published: 1987 - Page: 223

Collins Illustrated Checklist - Birds of Southern Africa - 1st edition - Author: Ber van Perlo - Published: 1999 - Page: 76

Birds of the Transkei - Author: C.D. Quickelberge - Published: 1989 - Page: 105

Birds of the South Western Cape - Author: Joy Frandsen - Published: 0 - Page: 194

Birds of the Natal Drakensberg Park - Author: Robin Little and William Bainbridge - Published: 1992 - Page: 94

Birds of Southern Africa - Kruger National Park - Author: Kenneth Newman - Published: 1985 - Page: 154

Birds of Africa south of the Sahara - Author: Ian Sinclair and Peter Ryan - Published: 2003 - Page: 364

A First Guide to South African Birds - 7th Edition - Author: Leonard Gill - Published: 1975 - Page: 79

Bird Atlas of Natal - Author: Digby Cyrus and Nigel Robson - Published: 1980 - Page: 240

A First Guide to South African Birds - 6th Edition - Author: Leonard Gill - Published: 1959 - Page: 79

A Field Guide to the Birds of Southern Africa - 2nd Edition - Author: O.P.M. Prozesky - Published: 1983 - Page: 260

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List of South African Birds