The species is widely distributed, with several populations breeding in Eurosiberia and migrating to tropical regions in Asia and Africa.

The binomial name of the grey wagtail Motacilla cinerea was introduced by Marmaduke Tunstall in his 1771 publication Ornithologia Britannica.

[2][3] Motacilla is the Latin name for the pied wagtail; although actually a diminutive of motare, "to move about", from medieval times it led to the misunderstanding of cilla as "tail".

Race melanope, which is not well separated from the nominate subspecies, is described as the population breeding in eastern Europe and central Asia mainly along the mountain chains of the Urals, Tien Shan and along the Himalayas.

[9] The breeding season is April to July and the nest is placed near fast running streams or rivers on an embankment between stones and roots.

[16] These birds feed on a variety of aquatic invertebrates including adult flies, mayflies, beetles, crustacea and molluscs.

[17] They often forage along roadsides in winter, flushing with a sharp chi-cheep call and flying up further along the road but after some distance turning back to return to the original location.

[10][19] Adults often have parasitic ticks, Ixodes ricinus, which can harbour Borrelia and thus can potentially disperse Lyme disease over a wide region.