Two Wagtails Of South Africa
Cape Wagtail or Gewone Kwikkie in Afrikaans (Motacilla capensis) one the Six Wagtails we have here in Southern Africa, this is a frequent visitor with some strange little habits.
Male wagtails will attack themselves in reflective glass or mirrors fighting off invader, my brother had a hanging plant basket that was used for a nest, the male was forever at the window protecting his territory with extreme zest.
Now I do believe the term wagtail is not common in North America, it is the most common name used where I live because of the bobbing/wagging of it's tail, this little feathered friend related to pipits.
Always on the ground foraging some say they bring you good luck, others surmise the wagging tail is to keep others at bay, all I know is they are a joy to watch moving around with distinct bib around the neck or collar whichever you prefer.
African Pied Wagtail (Motacilla aguimp) Slightly bigger with more striking black and white features in feathers, also does the bob and weave walk pumping their tails up and down.
Dead or alive insects enjoyed by this species of bird, not too much written about them perhaps they remain in plain sight, never questioned.
Both local pairs breed in shallow nests in many different settings, as mentioned around the home you may find a couple enjoying hanging pots, under house eaves, old trees.
Please correct me if I am wrong in any identification, photographing and finding out more about our birds has become a hobby.
All photography is my own, video taken out the window this morning, any queries or requests please drop a comment below, have a wonderful day!
Thought for Today: The wagtail hops and flaps its wings, but the male dove feeds and coos. - Maltese Proverb
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When I first glanced at your title @joanstewart, I swear I saw
BLOGGING wagtail
Which would have really been something. 😁
Great post and images Joan
Eyes playing tricks on you Jerry, a blogging wagtail would definitely be a first!
Thanks for visiting and brings a smile @jerrytsuseer
Wonderful photo of that beautiful bird. I often have Baltimore Orioles attack the bird they see in the window. It can get most annoying! Thanks for posting this beauty to The Feathered Friends Community!
!tip
At first you need to find the culprit making the noise being so small.
With a loud pip pip call they are not bothered by humans which makes me surprised little is written about them.
Thanks for visiting @melinda010100
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Oh they are really quite cute! It’s neat you have fallen in love with bird identification. It’s quite a fun hobby!
I have a collection of my Dad's old bird books plus my own which I spend hours delving through, sometimes good old google does help a little with so many in town @jayna thanks for visiting.
That’s really cool! Yet another hobby I would love to have time for. My parents used to drive all over the country to see birds in migration and had great gear for watching, looking up breeds and recording what they had seen.
Very addictive learning more, never get to identify first time off always either.
Some more fascinating birds from your side of the world i love the African Pied Wagtail 👍
Wagtail gives itself away so not a difficult one to identify. Some smaller birds can have you guessing and researching for days even months @kohsamui99 good to join local birding forums.
You certainly know more about birds then me and you also have the patience to photography them maybe i can draw them 😅
Capturing them into sketch or painting a wonderful way of expression you are welcome to enjoy using any I share, birds are dynamic to use.
Thank you @joanstewart for offering time is the essence will see how i go 🙂
Aww I like the lil bugger!
Cute and chatty, wagging around the garden!
I have a male parrot, he confused himself for another bird in a mirror the first time, then he checked and lost interest LOL
Birds definitely have wonderful personal behaviour in how they react to strange reflection looking back at them, thanks for visiting @aschatria
Awwwww...the lil birdie is so cute.
I guess I’m kinda in love with the lil fella.
Have a great day ahead.
Cheers.
They are quite vocal with a little tweet after each bob of the tail. Have an awesome day too @bold-n-italics
We have 2 who come to my kitchen door every morning and if I don't scatter crumbs, they actually start shouting at me; they're very tame and one has twice come into the kitchen when I'm down the passage! Really cute when they wag those long tails of theirs:)
Nice post Joan!
Full of character, I swear every time that tail bobs their is a pip to follow, when flying they pip pip pip all the way till landing again.
Nice your two are tame enough to do kitchen inspection, treat of the day!
Great shots of the bird Joan. I’ve seen birds attack themselves in a car mirror thinking it was a rival.
!tip
Talking to oneself in the mirror, perhaps they get answers too 😂Definitely cute to watch.
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