8, see text The longclaws are a genus, Macronyx, of small African passerine birds in the family Motacillidae.

Longclaws are slender, often colorful, ground-feeding insectivores of open country.

They are named for their unusually long hind claws, which are thought to help walk on grass.

The genus Macronyx was introduced by the English naturalist William Swainson in 1827 with the Cape longclaw as the type species.

[1][2] The name combines the Classical Greek words makros "long" or "great" and onux "claw".