The pipits are a cosmopolitan genus, Anthus, of small passerine birds with medium to long tails. Along with the wagtails and longclaws, the pipits make up the family Motacillidae. The genus is widespread, occurring across most of the world, except the driest deserts, rainforest and the mainland of Antarctica.

They are slender, often drab, ground-feeding insectivores of open country. Like their relatives in the family, the pipits are monogamous and territorial. Pipits are ground nesters, laying up to six speckled eggs.

Taxonomy and systematics

thumb|A [[New Zealand pipit Anthus novaeseelandiae. This species was formerly considered conspecific with the Australian pipit Anthus australis under the name Australasian pipit.]]

The genus Anthus was introduced in 1805 by German naturalist Johann Matthäus Bechstein. The type species was later designated as the meadow pipit.

The generic name Anthus is the Latin word for a small bird of grasslands mentioned by Pliny the Elder.

Molecular studies of the pipits suggested that the genus arose in East Asia around seven million years ago (Mya), during the Miocene, and that the genus had spread to the Americas, Africa, and Europe between 5 and 6 Mya. Speciation rates were high during the Pliocene (5.3 to 2.6 Mya ), but slowed down during the Pleistocene.

Extant species

The genus has more than 40 species, making it the largest genus in terms of numbers in its family. The exact species limits of the genus are still a matter of some debate, with some checklists recognising only 34 species. For example, the New Zealand pipit A. novaeseelandiae, which is currently treated as four subspecies found in New Zealand, formerly also included Australian pipit A. australis of Australia, Richard's pipit A. richardi of northern Asia, paddyfield pipit A. rufulus of southern Asia, and the African pipit A. cinnamomeus of Africa as subspecies. Conversely, it is also possible that the New Zealand subspecies found on its outlying Subantarctic Islands be split from the main islands species. In part the taxonomic difficulties arise due to the extreme similarities in appearance across the genus.

The family has an additional species, the golden pipit, Tmetothylacus tennelus, which belongs to a distinct, monotypic genus. This species is apparently intermediate in appearance between the pipits and the longclaws, and is probably more closely related to the longclaws. One species, the yellow-breasted pipit, is sometimes split out into a genus Hemimacronyx, which is considered to be intermediate between the longclaws and pipits. The split was originally proposed based on morphological features, but it has also found support based upon genetic analysis.

Description

thumb|The plumage colour of the [[long-billed pipit is typical of the genus, although this subspecies lacks the extensive streaking many other pipits, including other subspecies, have on the breast]]

The pipits are generally highly conservative in appearance. They are generally in length, although the smallest species, the short-tailed pipit, is only . In weight, they range from . The largest species may be the alpine pipit. Like all members of the family, they are slender, short-necked birds with long tails and long, slender legs with elongated (in some cases very elongated) hind claws. The length of the hind claw varies with the habits of the species, more arboreal species have shorter, more curved hind claws than the more terrestrial species. The bills are generally long, slender, and pointed. In both size and plumage, few differences are seen between the sexes. One unusual feature of the pipits, which they share in common with the rest of their family, but not the rest of the passerines, is that the tertials on the wing entirely cover the primary flight feathers. This is thought to be a feature to protect the primaries, which are important to flight, from the sun, which causes the feathers to fade and become brittle if not protected. Bill shape differs between larks and pipits, with larks having an evenly sloping culmen, whereas most pipits have a small hump over the nostrils, and lark bills are generally heavier, reflecting differences in diet. whereas several species are restricted (for part of the year in some cases) to alpine areas. The family also ranges from the northern tundra and the subantarctic islands of New Zealand and the South Georgia group to the tropics.

Feeding

The diet of the pipits is dominated by small invertebrates. Insects are the most important prey items; among the types taken include flies and their larvae, beetles, grasshoppers and crickets, true bugs, mantids, ants, aphids and particularly the larvae and adults of moths and butterflies. Outside of insects other invertebrates taken include spiders and, rarely, worms and scorpions. They are generally catholic in their diet, the composition of their diet apparently reflecting the abundance of their prey in the location (and varying with the season). The diet consumed by adults may vary to that of the young birds; for example adult tree pipits take large numbers of beetles but do not feed many to their chicks. Species feeding on the seashore are reported to feed on marine crustaceans and molluscs. A few species have been reported to feed on small fish, beating them in the manner of a kingfisher having caught them. Rock pipits have also been observed feeding on fish dropped by puffins. These fish, which include sand eels and rocklings, were dropped by puffins being harassed by gulls. A few species also are reported as consuming berries and seeds.

thumb|right|Australian pipit chicks in the nest

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

References

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Further reading

  • Pipit videos on the Internet Bird Collection