Pipit

Pipits are more than forty species of small passerine birds of the genus Anthus, family Motacillidae, and found in grassy areas world-wide.

Description[edit]

Pipits are on average from 6.3 to 8.3 inches in length, and weigh 0.53 to 1.34 ounces. It is slender in overall build. The plumage is drab shades of buff brown in most species, darker below than above, and bearing streaks on the breast, wings, and back. The tail is long, and is flicked from side to side as well as up and down while on the ground, hence the genus name Anthus, Latin for "wagtail". The legs are long for its size, with elongated hind claws. Differences in size and coloration between the sexes are scant.

Species[edit]

Following a study by Davies and Peacock (2014)^[1], two recently described species were reclassified by the International Ornithological Congress (classification version 4.3, 2014^[2]). According to the Davies and Peacock study, plumage characteristics of the long-tailed pipit (Anthus longicaudatus) and Kimberley's pipit (Anthus pseudosimilis) were indistinguishable from the buffy pipit (Anthus vaalensis) and the African pipit (Anthus cinnamomeus), respectively, with the specimens possibly collected from migrating populations.

The precise definition of pipits often baffles both bird watchers and researchers, as many species are very similar to each other and have very weak morphological differences^[3], with hybridization sometimes discovered^[4]. The classification of the genus, as well as of the family Motacillidae as a whole (which also includes longclaws and wagtails), is currently under revision. Currently, the genus Anthus consists of 46 known living species:

• African pipit, Anthus cinnamomeus
• African rock pipit, Anthus crenatus
• Alpine pipit, Anthus gutturalis
• Australian pipit, Anthus australis
• Berthelot's pipit, Anthus berthelotii
• Blyth's pipit, Anthus godlewskii
• Buff-bellied pipit, Anthus rubescens
• Buffy pipit, Anthus vaalensis
• Bushveld pipit, Anthus caffer
• Correndera pipit, Anthus correndera
• European rock pipit, Anthus petrosus
• Hellmayr's pipit, Anthus hellmayri
• Long-billed pipit, Anthus similis
• Long-legged pipit, Anthus pallidiventris
• Malindi pipit, Anthus melindae
• Meadow pipit, Anthus pratensis
• Mountain pipit, Anthus hoeschi
• New Zealand pipit, Anthus novaeseelandiae
• Nicholson's pipit, Anthus nicholsoni
• Nilgiri pipit, Anthus nilghiriensis
• Ochre-breasted pipit, Anthus nattereri
• Olive-backed pipit, Anthus hodgsoni
• Paddyfield pipit, Anthus rufulus
• Pampas pipit, Anthus chacoensis
• Paramo pipit, Anthus bogotensis
• Pechora pipit, Anthus gustavi
• Peruvian pipit, Anthus peruvianus
• Plain-backed pipit, Anthus leucophrys
• Puna pipit, Anthus brevirostris
• Red-throated pipit, Anthus cervinus
• Richard's pipit, Anthus richardi
• Rosy pipit, Anthus roseatus
• Rufous-throated white-eye pipit, Anthus ruficollis
• Short-billed pipit, Anthus furcatus
• Short-tailed pipit, Anthus brachyurus
• South Georgia pipit, Anthus antarcticus
• Striped pipit, Anthus lineiventris
• Sokoke pipit, Anthus sokokensis
• Sprague's pipit, Anthus spragueii
• Tawny pipit, Anthus campestris
• Tree pipit, Anthus trivialis
• Upland pipit, Anthus sylvanus
• Water pipit, Anthus spinoletta
• Wood pipit, Anthus nyassae
• Yellow-breasted pipit, Anthus chloris
• Yellowish pipit, Anthus lutescens

References[edit]