The Cape longclaw or orange-throated longclaw (Macronyx capensis) is a passerine bird in the family Motacillidae, which comprises the longclaws, pipits and wagtails. It occurs in Southern Africa in Zimbabwe and southern and eastern South Africa. This species is found in coastal and mountain grassland, often near water. Although Brisson coined Latin names, these do not conform to the binomial system and are not recognised by the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature. When in 1766 the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus updated his Systema Naturae for the twelfth edition, he added 240 species that had been previously described by Brisson. The specific name capensis denotes the Cape of Good Hope. The species is now placed in the genus Macronyx that was introduced by the English naturalist William Swainson in 1827 with the Cape longclaw as the type species.
Two subspecies are recognised:
- M. c. capensis (Linnaeus, 1766) – southwest, south South Africa
- M. c. colletti Schou, 1908 – southeast Botswana and Zimbabwe to Mozambique and east South Africa
Description
The Cape longclaw is a 19–20 cm long.