Tree Pipit
Anthus trivialis
Slender and streaked pipit. Feeds on the ground like other pipits, but perches readily in trees or bushes when singing, or alights in tree at end of parachuting song flight. As the name suggests, usually associated with trees (on breeding grounds), but also found in agricultural areas and grassy scrub in winter. All pipits look rather similar and are best identified to species by combination of habitat and voice: Tree Pipit call a high, shrill, buzzy "tzzz"; song more melodic and varied than Meadow Pipit song.
Identification
This is a small pipit, which resembles meadow pipit. It is an undistinguished-looking species, streaked brown above and with black markings on a white belly and buff breast below. It can be distinguished from the slightly smaller meadow pipit by its heavier bill and greater contrast between its buff breast and white belly. Tree pipits more readily perch in trees.<p>The call is a strong spek, unlike the weak call of its relative. The song flight is unmistakable. The bird rises a short distance up from a tree, and then parachutes down on stiff wings, the song becoming more drawn out towards the end.
Taxonomy
The tree pipit was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae under the binomial name Alauda trivialis. Linnaeus noted that the species occurred in Sweden. The specific epithet trivialis is Latin meaning "common" or "ordinary" from Latin trivium meaning "public street". The tree pipit is now placed in the genus Anthus that was introduced in 1805 by the German naturalist Johann Matthäus Bechstein.<p>Two subspecies are recognised:
- Scientific name
- Anthus trivialis
- Authority
- (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Motacillidae
- Genus
- Anthus
Range and habitat
The tree pipit breeds in habitats with a wooded component, including lowland heath and coppice. It is found mostly in open woodland on the boundary with moorland, or open structured oak woodland – therefore heavy thinning is required to produce a gappy character. It prefers low canopy medium-sized trees, where there is low-growing scrub and bramble less than 2 metres high, so that horizontal visibility is relatively high. It likes a mosaic of grass and bracken, but not very grazed short turf, so light to moderate grazing is preferred.
- Breeding range
- PAL : widespread
- Non-breeding range
- India and AF
- Migration
- Complete migrants
Behavior
Tree pipits nest on the ground amongst grass or heather tussocks. The nest is built by the female. The clutch of 4 to 6 eggs is incubated by the female. The eggs hatch after 12–14 days. The chicks are fed by both parents and leave the nest after 12–14 days. The nests are sometimes parasitized by the common cuckoo (Cuculus canorus).<p>Tree pipits mainly eat invertebrates, typically insects but will also eat some plant material. They mostly forage on the ground.
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Great Tit
Parus major
Conspicuous inhabitant of woods, forests, parks, gardens, and hedges in farmland. Often visits bird feeders and uses nest boxes. Plumage is distinctive, with white cheeks surrounded by a black cap and bib. Male has a broader black stripe down belly than the female, and the juvenile (seen in summer–early autumn) has yellowish wash to face and drabber plumage overall. Underparts are bright yellow throughout much of range, but “Turkestan Tit” of Central Asia has a white belly. Appreciably larger and more boldly patterned than Eurasian Blue Tit, which often occurs alongside it. Listen for its distinctive high-pitched up-and-down song: “tsee-dee-tsee-dee-tsee-dee” and chattering scolds.
Blue Paradise-Flycatcher
Terpsiphone cyanescens
A medium-sized, long-tailed bird of lowland forest understory on Palawan and neighboring islands. Has a blue bill, eye-ring, chest, and head with a slight crest at the back. Back, wings, and tail are blue in the male and rufous in the female. Female is distinctive. Male is similar to Black-naped Monarch, but larger, and lacks the black mark on the back of the head. Song consists of a rapidly pulsating series of fairly high-pitched nasal notes that increase in volume.
Common Ostrich
Struthio camelus
Massive, conspicuous, flightless bird with long neck and robust legs. Mature males have black-and-white plumage, with pinkish skin, flushed in breeding plumage. Females and immatures are duller gray-brown. Small groups roam open and lightly-wooded country; can walk up to several kilometers a day. The stubby wings are used for spectacular breeding displays and dust-bathing. Deep booming calls can be heard from long distances. Similar Somali Ostrich (no range overlap) has slaty-colored skin and pale eyes, unlike the pink-skinned Common Ostrich.
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