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Grey Wagtail
Motacilla cinerea
species of Motacillidae


© Andreas Stumpner
ad. male
number longest lengths distribution of longest primary smallest individual biggest individual
primary 10 per wing 68.8 - 73.0mm n=13
P7 (77%) P8=P7 (8%) P8 (8%) P7=P8 (8%)
789 3416
secondary 9 per wing 56.9 - 71.5mm n=14
S7 (100%)
790 811
retrix 12
96.5 - 107.0mm n=13
R6 (38%) R5 (31%) R3=R5 (8%) R1=R3=R5 (8%) R1=R2 (8%) R1 (8%)
790 3417
wing length1 hand-wing-index1,2 (HWI) primaries-index wing length/longest primary ratio hand-wing-index/primaries-index ratio
78 - 88mm n=17 32 - 37% n=16 27 - 29% n=13 no data available no data available
detailed information

The wing length is measured on the flattened and straightened wing ("maximum chord") from the carpal joint to the tip of the longest primary feather, the so-called "Kleinschmidt-method".

combined data from:
Avonet1: 78 - 88mm n=17

The hand-wing-index, introduced by Kipp 1959, is calculated as the ratio of the hand length (difference between the length of the longest primary and the first secondary) to the wing length.

combined data from:
Avonet1: 32 - 37% n=16,
The primaries-index is calculated as the ratio of the longest primary feather length to the first (outermost) secondary. It is the equivalent of the hand-wing index for feather measurements. The wing length/longest primary ratio is calculated as the ratio of the wing length to the length of the longest primary feather. The hand-wing-index/primaries-index ratio is calculated as the ratio of the hand-wing index to the primaries-index.
1 Tobias, J. A., et al. (2022). AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds.
2 Kipp, Friedrich A.: "Der Handflügel-Index als flugbiologisches Maß", erschienen in "Vogelwarte - Zeitschrift für Vogelkunde", 1959, Band 20, Heft 1



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country allocations

extant

Afghanistan · Albania · Algeria · Andorra · Armenia · Australia (vagrant) · Austria · Azerbaijan · Bahrain · Bangladesh · Belarus (vagrant) · Belgium · Bhutan · Bosnia and Herzegovina · Botswana (vagrant) · Brunei Darussalam · Bulgaria · Cambodia · Cameroon (vagrant) · Canada (vagrant) · Central African Republic · China · Christmas Island · Congo, The Democratic Republic of the · Croatia · Cyprus · Czechia · Denmark · Djibouti · Egypt · Eritrea · Estonia · Ethiopia · Faroe Islands · Finland · France · Georgia · Germany · Gibraltar · Greece · Guam (vagrant) · Guinea-Bissau · Hong Kong · Hungary · Iceland · India · Indonesia · Iran, Islamic Republic of · Iraq · Ireland · Israel · Italy · Japan · Jordan · Kazakhstan · Kenya · Korea, Democratic People's Republic of · Korea, Republic of · Kuwait · Kyrgyzstan · Lao People's Democratic Republic · Latvia · Lebanon · Libya · Liechtenstein · Luxembourg · Macao · Malawi · Malaysia · Maldives (vagrant) · Mali · Malta · Mauritania · Micronesia, Federated States of (vagrant) · Mongolia · Montenegro · Morocco · Myanmar · Namibia (vagrant) · Nepal · Netherlands · Niger (vagrant) · North Macedonia · Northern Mariana Islands (vagrant) · Norway · Oman · Pakistan · Palau (vagrant) · Philippines · Poland · Portugal · Qatar · Romania · Russian Federation · Rwanda · Saudi Arabia · Senegal (vagrant) · Serbia · Seychelles (vagrant) · Singapore · Slovakia · Slovenia · Somalia · South Africa (vagrant) · South Sudan · Spain · Sri Lanka · Sudan · Sweden · Switzerland · Syrian Arab Republic · Taiwan, Province of China · Tajikistan · Tanzania, United Republic of · Thailand · Timor-Leste · Tunisia · Türkiye · Turkmenistan · Uganda · Ukraine · United Arab Emirates · United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland · United States of America (vagrant) · Uzbekistan · Viet Nam · Yemen · Zambia (vagrant) · Zimbabwe (vagrant) ·
source: IUCN 2025. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2025-1 <www.iucnredlist.org>
assessment data: |

Songbirds and kin

conservation status

  • CITES
    not listed
  • Regulation (EG) Nr. 865/2006
    not listed
  • German Federal Nature Conservation Act §44
    protected