Birds
Pipit
Anthus spp. · also called pipits, meadow pipit
High above an open moor, a pipit climbs almost straight up while singing, then locks its wings stiff and drifts slowly back down toward the very same patch of grass it left, a display with no obvious perch involved at any point.
Overview
Pipits, genus Anthus, are slim, streaky-brown songbirds found across open grassland, tundra, and coastal habitat on nearly every continent. Their ground-walking gait and parachuting song flight set them apart from most other small, insect-eating songbirds.
A ground bird that sings from the sky
Lacking the elevated perches many songbirds rely on, the pipit instead turns the open sky itself into a stage, climbing and descending in a slow, deliberate display that substitutes altitude for a proper branch.
Status
Least Concern — widespread and common across suitable open habitat on nearly every continent except Antarctica.
Pipit: common questions
What is a pipit's parachuting song flight for?
Many pipit species climb steeply into the air while singing, then descend in a slow, stiff-winged parachuting glide back toward the ground, a conspicuous display flight used mainly to advertise a breeding territory and attract a mate across open habitat that offers few elevated song perches.
Why does the common cuckoo target meadow pipit nests so often?
The meadow pipit builds an accessible ground nest and is common across the open habitat the common cuckoo favours, and female cuckoos specialising on this host lay an egg closely mimicking the pipit's own in colour and pattern, making the meadow pipit one of the cuckoo's most frequently exploited host species.
How can you tell a pipit from a similar-looking sparrow?
A pipit generally has a slimmer body, a thinner bill suited to catching insects rather than cracking seeds, and moves across the ground with a steady walking gait rather than the hopping motion typical of many sparrows, differences that become clearer with a bit of field observation.
Where do pipits live?
Pipit species are found across grassland, tundra, mountain, and coastal habitat on every continent except Antarctica, generally favouring open ground with short or sparse vegetation that suits their ground-foraging, ground-nesting lifestyle.