General

Gray Wagtail: Medium-sized wagtail with black throat, blue-gray upperparts, brilliant yellow underparts, distinct white eye-line, and yellow legs and feet. Tail is long, black, and white-edged. Female, winter adult, and juvenile have white throats. Rare visitor to Alaska.

Range and Habitat

Gray Wagtail: Rare to casual on the western Aleutians, Pribilofs, and St. Lawrence islands; accidental in California. Preferred habitats include upland streams and vicinities, rocky places or cliffs, and lakes and rivers.

Breeding and Nesting

Gray Wagtail: Four to five yellow gray eggs with dark blotches are laid in a nest made of twigs, roots, grass, and moss, lined with hair and feathers, and built on the ground, hidden in a crevice, or sheltered by a boulder or tree roots. Incubation ranges from 11 to 14 days and is carried out by the female.

Foraging and Feeding

Gray Wagtail: Diet consists mostly of insects and snails; forages on the ground and in shallow water.

Vocalization

Gray Wagtail: Song consists of three or four notes "tsee-tsee-tsee." Call is a "chink, chink" or "tisk, tisk."

Similar Species

Gray Wagtail: Eastern Yellow Wagtail is smaller and has a shorter tail.