Longclaw
| Longclaws | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Yellow-throated longclaw | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Motacillidae |
| Genus: | Macronyx Swainson, 1827 |
| Species | |
|
Many, see text | |
The longclaws are a genus of small African passerine birds with long tails, which they wag frequently. They are in the same family as the pipits and wagtails.
Longclaws are slender, often colorful, ground-feeding insectivores of open country. They are ground nesters, laying up to four speckled eggs.
They are named for their unusually long hind claws, which are thought to help in walking on grass.
There are only between 10,000 and 19,000 Sharpe's longclaw left in Kenya.
Taxonomy
- Cape longclaw, Macronyx capensis
- Yellow-throated longclaw, Macronyx croceus
- Fülleborn's longclaw, Macronyx fuellebornii
- Sharpe's longclaw, Macronyx sharpei
- Abyssinian longclaw, Macronyx flavicollis
- Pangani longclaw, Macronyx aurantiigula
- Rosy-throated longclaw, Macronyx ameliae
- Grimwood's longclaw, Macronyx grimwoodi
External links
- Longclaw videos on the Internet Bird Collection
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