White-browed wagtails are native to the Indian subcontinent, common near small water bodies and have adapted to urban environments where they often nest on roof tops.

The white-browed wagtail was formally described in 1789 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's Systema Naturae.

[7] Gmelin's account was based on the "black and white wagtail" that had been described and illustrated in 1713 by the English naturalist John Ray.

It is one of the few Motacilla wagtails that has adapted well to urban habitats and is often found perched on overhead water storages in residential buildings.

[10][15][17] Stuart Baker in his second edition of The Fauna of British India considered this as a subspecies of the white wagtail, calling it Motacilla lugubris maderaspatensis.

mtDNA cytochrome b and NADH dehydrogenase subunit 2 sequence data has not been able to robustly resolve the relationships of these birds, especially in respect to the blue-headed wagtail and its relatives.

[15] In courtship, the male shoots into the air with a single wing beat, sings and glides with dangling legs and puffed feathers.

On settling, the tail of the male is raised high and wings held up over the back and the tip is quivered stiffly while he steps around the female.

[15][27] It builds its cup-shaped nest placed on the ground or rocks in a hole, ledge or mud bank and is always located close to water.

The nest is made of grass, roots, algae and other material with a central neat cup lined with hair.

[33] The Khanjan was held sacred and considered a good omen in India as it supposedly bore an impression of Vishnu's shaligram on its breast.