| 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.