---
title: "White Wagtail"
description: "Motacilla alba — Vogels. The white wagtail (Motacilla alba) is a small passerine bird in the family Motacillidae, which also includes pipits and longclaws."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/nl/animal/white-wagtail
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# White Wagtail

> Motacilla alba — Vogels. The white wagtail (Motacilla alba) is a small passerine bird in the family Motacillidae, which also includes pipits and longclaws.

- Scientific name: *Motacilla alba*
- Category: `birds` (Vogels)
- Habitats: `grassland` (Weiden en velden), `urban` (Steden en tuinen)
- iNaturalist observations: 205660
- Wikidata: [Q25399](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q25399)
- iNaturalist taxon: [13695](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/13695)

## Names

- en: White Wagtail
- de: Bachstelze
- es: Lavandera blanca
- fr: Bergeronnette grise
- pt: Alvéola-branca
- pl: Pliszka siwa

## Countries with the most observations

RU (57814), GB (15686), ES (11031), DE (10639), FR (8914), JP (7390), IT (6314), CN (6174), PT (5674), TW (4048), AT (3315), UA (3029)

## Summary

The white wagtail (Motacilla alba) is a small passerine bird in the family Motacillidae, which also includes pipits and longclaws. The species breeds in the Palearctic zone in most of Europe and Asia and parts of North Africa; it also has a toehold in western Alaska as a scarce breeder. It is resident in the mildest parts of its range, but otherwise migrates to Africa. In total, there are between 9 and 11 subspecies of M. alba; in Ireland and Great Britain, the black-backed subspecies known as the pied wagtail (M. a. yarrellii) predominates.
The white wagtail is an insectivorous bird of open country, often near habitation…

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_wagtail

## Photo

![White Wagtail](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/white-wagtail/medium.jpg)

Photo: jubileej · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/273408713

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/white-wagtail?lang=nl` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).