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Grey Wagtails are one of the largest wagtail species. Their plumage is dimorphic, i.e. males and females are different. In addition, male Grey Wagtails have different breeding and non-breeding plumages. Males in breeding plumage have a grey head, nape of the neck and mantle; only the supercilia are white. Their most prominent feature is a large, pitch-black chin patch ("bib"), which is flanked on either side by a white malar stripe. The chest, vent and undertail coverts are bright-yellow. The rump is also bright-yellow; only the belly is paler yellow. Males in eclipse resemble females, but will usually have a grey-streaked bib, whereas females can have a white chin. Female Grey Wagtails have a grey head, nape of the neck and mantle; only the supercilia are off-white to pale-yellow. The throat is whitish, the chest has a pale-yellow tinge, while the belly is off-white again. The vent and undertail coverts are bright-yellow. The rump is pale-yellow. The flight feathers of both sexes are black, with some white edge bars. The uppertail is dark-grey. The irises of both sexes are dark. The straight, slender bill is dark-grey. The short legs and feet are pinkish-grey. Juvenile birds roughly resemble females, but have buff tints on chest and supercilium and have a bill with a pink lower mandible.

The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found, based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to ebird.org .

The global distribution of the Grey Wagtail is available HERE .

Grey Wagtails have a very wide-ranging distribution, from the Azores in the northern Atlantic in the West to the coastline of the Bering Sea in far-eastern Siberia in the East.
Grey Wagtails, nominate race "cinerea", breed in western (including the British Isles), central and southern Europe (all the Mediterranean countries), plus parts of Denmark and the southern Scandinavian coastline. There are also small patches in the western Atlas mountain range and from the coastal regions of Asia Minor into south-western Asia (Iraq, Iran). In summertime they disperse into breeding grounds in eastern Europe, around the Caucasus mountains and into central Asia. They winter in parts of the European Mediterranean coastal areas, the Benelux countries, central Asia Minor, along the northern African coastline, the Middle Eastern Mediterranean coastline and also around the Red Sea, including Arabia. Race "robusta" breeds in Siberia, Korea and Japan, and winters in south-eastern Asia, rarely also in Australia. Other races are mainly found on island groups or are in dispute.

During the winters or migration, nominate race "cinerea" is found in parts of Arabia, always near water - near the coastline, but also along streams in hills and mountainous regions.

Race "cinerea"

Race "patriciae"

Race "robusta"