pipit, common name for a group of chiefly Eurasian and African birds that together with the wagtails constitute a subfamily of songbirds related to the Old World warblers and thrushes. Pipits are trim, slender birds with thin, pointed bills. They are chiefly terrestrial and walk or run rapidly, catching insects on or near the ground. The pipit's plumage is streaked and mottled brown; the wagtail's is more boldly patterned. Pipits resemble larks and are sometimes called field larks, or titlarks. The few American species include the water, or rock, pipit, Anthus spinoletta, which breeds in the Arctic and winters in the E United States, and the Sprague's pipit of the Great Plains, noted for the spectacular courtship flight and song of the male. The African longclaw has elongated hind toes suited to running over the veldt. The wagtails, members of the same family, are named for their habit of bobbing their tails, and are usually found near water in temperate Eurasia and Africa; the only New World species is the yellow wagtail of the northern tundra. Pipits and wagtails are classified in the phylum Chordata, subphylum Vertebrata, class Aves, order Passeriformes, family Motacillidae.

or fieldlark

Any of about 50 species (especially in the genus Anthus) of small, slender-bodied, ground-dwelling songbirds belonging to the family Motacillidae. Found worldwide except in polar regions and on some islands, they are brownish-streaked and 5–9 in. (12–23 cm) long. They have a thin, pointed bill, pointed wings, and elongated hind toes and claws. Named for their twittering sounds, they walk and run rapidly (but never hop), searching the ground for insects. Their flight is strongly undulating. Their white outer tail feathers show best in flight. Seealso wagtail.

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Anthus redirects here. For the son of Autonous, see Anthus (mythology).

The pipits are a genus of small passerine birds with medium to long tails. The genus has more than three dozen species. Along with the wagtails and longclaws, the pipits make up the family Motacillidae.

They are slender, often drab, ground-feeding insectivores of open country. Pipits are ground nesters, laying up to six speckled eggs.

The Golden Pipit, Tmetothylacus tennelus, belongs to a distinct, monotypic genus.

Species in taxonomic order

• Richard's Pipit Anthus richardi
• Paddyfield Pipit Anthus rufulus
• Grassveld Pipit Anthus cinnamomeus
• Australasian Pipit Anthus novaeseelandiae
• Plain Pipit Anthus leucophrys
• Sandy Pipit Anthus vaalensis
• Long-clawed Pipit Anthus pallidiventris
• Malindi Pipit Anthus melindae
• Kimberley Pipit Anthus pseudosimilis
• Tawny Pipit Anthus campestris
• Blyth's Pipit Anthus godlewskii
• Berthelot's Pipit Anthus berthelotii
• Long-billed Pipit Anthus similis
• Short-tailed Pipit Anthus brachyurus
• Little Pipit Anthus caffer
• Tree Pipit Anthus trivialis
• Nilgiri Pipit Anthus nilghiriensis
• Olive-backed Pipit Anthus hodgsoni
• Pechora Pipit Anthus gustavi
• Meadow Pipit Anthus pratensis
• Red-throated Pipit Anthus cervinus
• Rosy Pipit Anthus roseatus
• Water Pipit Anthus spinoletta
• Rock Pipit Anthus petrosus
• Buff-bellied Pipit Anthus rubescens
• Upland Pipit Anthus sylvanus
• Sprague's Pipit Anthus spragueii
• Short-billed Pipit Anthus furcatus
• Hellmayr's Pipit Anthus hellmayri
• Yellowish Pipit Anthus lutescens
• Chaco Pipit Anthus chacoensis
• Correndera Pipit Anthus correndera
• Ochre-breasted Pipit Anthus nattereri
• Paramo Pipit Anthus bogotensis
• South Georgia Pipit Anthus antarcticus
• New Guinea Pipit Anthus gutturalis
• Sokoke Pipit Anthus sokokensis
• Yellow-tufted Pipit Anthus crenatus
• Striped Pipit Anthus lineiventris
• Yellow-breasted Pipit Anthus chloris

References

• Voelker, G. 1999. Molecular Evolutionary Relationships in the Avian Genus Anthus(Pipits: Motacillidae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 11 (1), pp. 84-94.

External links

• Pipit videos on the Internet Bird Collection