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A photo of a Meadow Pipit (Anthus pratensis)
Meadow Pipit

Meadow Pipit

Anthus pratensis

The meadow pipit (Anthus pratensis) is a small passerine bird, which breeds in much of the Palearctic, from southeastern Greenland and Iceland east to just east of the Ural Mountains in Russia, and south to central France and Romania; an isolated population also occurs in the Caucasus Mountains. It is migratory over most of its range, wintering in southern Europe, North Africa, and south-western Asia, but is resident year-round in western Europe, though even here many birds move to the coast or lowlands in winter. It is an undistinguished-looking species on the ground, mainly brown above and buff below, with darker streaking on most of its plumage; the tail is brown, with narrow white side edges. It has a thin bill and pale pinkish-yellow legs; the hind claw is notably long, longer than the rest of the hind toes. The call is a weak tsi-tsi. The simple repetitive song is given in a short song flight. Birds breeding in Ireland and western Scotland are slightly darker coloured than those in other areas, and are often distinguished as the subspecies A. p. whistleri, though it intergrades clinally with nominate A. p. pratensis found in the rest of the species' range. It is similar to the red-throated pipit A. cervinus, which is more heavily streaked and (in summer only) has an orange-red throat, and to the tree pipit A. trivialis, which is slightly larger, less heavily streaked, and has stronger facial markings and a shorter hind claw. The song of the meadow pipit accelerates towards the end while that of the tree pipit slows down
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Similar species

A photo of a Tree Pipit (Anthus trivialis)
Tree Pipit
Anthus trivialis

Meadow Pipits on Birda

Photos

Sightings

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Profile picture for Al McGrath & Teresa Kuempfel
Al McGrath & Teresa Kuempfel
Thursday 28 Sep 2023 - 3:26pm
United Kingdom
A map showing the sighting location
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Dominic Pemberton
Thursday 28 Sep 2023 - 3:15pm
United Kingdom
A map showing the sighting location
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Stephen Watcham
Thursday 28 Sep 2023 - 12:43pm
United Kingdom
A map showing the sighting location
Profile picture for Beth King
Beth King
Thursday 28 Sep 2023 - 12:06pm
United Kingdom
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