Get to know the elegant mountain wagtail
The mountain wagtail is a long-tailed bird with a gray back, pale underparts, and a black chest band.
MOUNTAIN wagtails are usually in pairs or single unmated birds, spaced from half to one kilometre along the water course. They are sparse residents on permanent streams and rivers, being nomadic on seasonal tributaries.
Therefore, they are found from the Eastern Cape through KwaZulu-Natal and eastern parts of Limpopo. They like fast flowing well-wooded rocky streams and rivers, also forested rivers. There they feed on insects, mostly larvae of dragonflies and mosquitoes.
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They are lively and quick, running about on rocks in midstream or wading up to their belly depth in the water. They also catch insects in flight. They wag their tails incessantly and threaten fellow wagtails by puffing up plumage and raising their tail.
The voice is sharp, with a high pitched “cheeerip” or “chissik” call. Breeding takes place from August to January. The nest is a bulky foundation of leaves, moss and grass with a cup of dry fine rootlets and thin plant stems.
It is built on a rock ledge or in the niche of the stream bank, usually one to two metres above water. The nest is built by both sexes and takes only four days to complete. Usually, two dull grey eggs are laid, incubation lasts 13 to 14 days and the nestling period is 14 to 18 days.
The isiZulu name is umVemve or umCishu and in Afrikaans die bergkwikkie.
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