[3] The African pied wagtail is found in sub-Saharan Africa from the Eastern Cape north to extreme southern Egypt and from Guinea to western Eritrea and Somalia.

[1][4] The African pied wagtail inhabits subtropical or tropical, seasonally wet or flooded, lowland grassland, rivers, and sometimes freshwater marshes.

[6] The African pied wagtail is monogamous; the cup-shaped nest is lined with grass and feathers and is usually situated near water in a convenient tangle of sticks.

[8] The African pied wagtail is mainly insectivorous, but also feeds on other invertebrates, grass seeds, tadpoles, small fish, and scraps of human food.

[8] The scientific binomial for the African pied wagtail is Motacilla aguimp; Motacilla, the name of the genus containing all but the forest wagtail of Asia, is from the Latin for a "little mover", while the specific name aguimp is the native name of the species "Les Namaquois les appellent a-guimp, nom composé de deux syllabes précédées chacune d'un clappement de langue, et qui signifie coureur de grève" ("The Namaquois call them a-guimp, a name made up of two syllables each preceded by a click of the tongue, and which means shore runner").