Water pipit

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Water pipit
Anthus spinoletta - Water Pipit, Kahramanmaras 2016-11-18 01-10.jpg
Anthus spinoletta spinoletta
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Motacillidae
Genus: Anthus
Species:
A. spinoletta
Binomial name
Anthus spinoletta
AnthusSpinolettaIUCNver2019 1.png
Range of A. spinoletta
  Breeding
  Resident
  Passage
  Non-breeding
Synonyms
  • Alauda spinolettaLinnaeus, 1758

The water pipit (Anthus spinoletta) is a small passerine bird which breeds in the mountains of Southern Europe and the Palearctic eastwards to China. It is a short-distance migrant; many birds move to lower altitudes or wet open lowlands in winter.

Contents

The water pipit in breeding plumage has greyish-brown upperparts, weakly streaked with darker brown, and pale pink-buff underparts fading to whitish on the lower belly. The head is grey with a broad white supercilium ("eyebrow"), and the outer tail feathers are white. In winter, the head is grey-brown, the supercilium is duller, the upperparts are more streaked, and the underparts are white, streaked lightly with brown on the breast and flanks. There are only minor differences among the three subspecies, the sexes are almost identical, and young birds resemble adults. The water pipit's song is delivered from a perch or in flight, and consists of four or five blocks, each consisting of about six repetitions of a different short note.

Water pipits construct a cup-like nest on the ground under vegetation or in cliff crevices and lay four to six speckled grey-ish white eggs, which hatch in about two weeks with a further 14–15 days to fledging. Although pipits occasionally catch insects in flight, they feed mainly on small invertebrates picked off the ground or vegetation, and also some plant material.

The water pipit may be hunted by birds of prey, infested by parasites such as fleas, or act as an involuntary host to the common cuckoo, but overall its population is large and stable, and it is therefore evaluated as a species of least concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Taxonomy and systematics

The family Motacillidae consists of the wagtails, pipits and longclaws. The largest of the three groups is the pipits, genus Anthus, which are typically brown-plumaged terrestrial insectivores. Their similar appearances have led to taxonomic problems; the water pipit and the buff-bellied pipit were both formerly considered subspecies of the European rock pipit. [2] Of these, the rock pipit is the more closely related to the water pipit, based on external and molecular characteristics. [3] [4] Other near relatives are the meadow, red-throated and rosy pipits. [4] [5]

The water pipit was first described by Carl Linnaeus in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae in 1758 as Alauda spinoletta (characterised as A. rectricibus fuscis : extimis duabus oblique dimidiato-albis). [6] The current genus Anthus was created for the pipits by German naturalist Johann Matthäus Bechstein in 1805. [7] Anthus is the Latin name for a small bird of grasslands, and the specific spinoletta is a local dialect word for a pipit from the Florence area of Italy. [8]

Wintering Anthus spinoletta blakistoni at Tal Chhapar Sanctuary Anthus spinoletta Water Pipit.jpg
Wintering Anthus spinoletta blakistoni at Tal Chhapar Sanctuary

There are three recognised subspecies of the water pipit:

A possible fourth race from the northwestern Caucasus, Anthus spinoletta caucasicus, cannot be reliably separated from A.s. coutellii. The latter form is itself a potential new species, based on genetic data, appearance and a characteristic flight call. [5]

Description

The water pipit is 15–17 centimetres (5.9–6.7 in) long and weighs 18.7–23 grams (0.66–0.81 oz). The adult of the nominate race in spring plumage has greyish-brown upperparts, weakly streaked with darker brown, and pale pink-buff underparts fading to whitish on the lower belly. There may be some faint streaking on the breast and flanks. The head is grey with a broad white supercilium. The outer tail feathers are white, and the legs, bill and iris are dark brown or blackish. In non-breeding plumage, the head is grey-brown and the supercilium is less distinct. The upperparts are more streaked, and the underparts are white, marked lightly with brown on the breast and flanks. [3] [5]

The sexes are similar although the female has, on average, a greyer head. Young birds resembles the non-breeding adult, but are browner and more streaked above with prominent streaking on the underparts. A. s. coutellii is smaller than the nominate subspecies and the white of the outer tail feathers has a hint of grey. It is paler and more heavily streaked above, and in summer plumage the underparts' colour covers a larger area and has a rusty tint. A. s. blakistoni is large, pale and less strongly streaked. [5]

Conspicuous head markings Anthus spinoletta-4.jpg
Conspicuous head markings

The water pipit has a complete moult between July and September, although there is considerable individual variation in timing. There is a partial pre-breeding moult, mainly between January and March, but with much variability in timing. This moult typically involves replacing the head, body and some wing feathers, but the extent is again variable. Very occasionally, females may moult into what looks like non-breeding plumage, rather than the expected brighter garb. The chicks start to gain juvenile plumage as soon as a month after hatching, and most have completed the transition to near-adult appearance by September. The first pre-breeding moult is similar to that of the adult, but may be less complete or even absent. [10]

The water pipit is closely related to the Eurasian rock pipit and the meadow pipit, [4] and is rather similar to both in appearance. Compared to the meadow pipit, the water pipit is longer-winged and longer-tailed than its relative, and has much paler underparts. It has dark, rather than pinkish-red, legs. The water pipit in winter plumage is also confusable with the Eurasian rock pipit, but has a strong supercilium, greyer upperparts, and white, not grey, outer tail feathers; it is also typically much warier. [11] The habitats used by European rock and water pipits are completely separate in the breeding season, and there is little overlap even when birds are not nesting. There is also little mixing with breeding meadow pipits, although since 1960 some overlapping territories have been found where the species coexist. [5]

The European rock pipit's subspecies Anthus petrosus littoralis in summer plumage is particularly close in outward appearance to the water pipit. The rock pipit normally has a bluer tint to the head, streaking on the breast and flanks, and buff outer tail feathers, [11] and the songs are also different. [5] [12] The species mostly occupy different habitat types even when they occur in the same general area. [13]

Voice

The water pipit's song is delivered from a perch or in flight, and consists of four or five blocks, each consisting of about half a dozen repetitions of a different short note. [5] In comparison, the European rock pipit's song is a sequence of about twenty tinkling cheepa notes followed by a rising series of thin gee calls, and finishing with a short trill. [12] The call of the water pipit is a single or double sharp "dzip" or similar, slightly harsher than soft sip sip sip of the meadow pipit or the shrill pseep of the European rock pipit. The short, thin fist flight call is intermediate between the sip of the meadow pipit and the rock pipit's feest. [5] [11] The differences between the calls of the pipit species are very subtle, and not diagnostic in the absence of other evidence. [11] The flight call of the subspecies A. s. coutellii is shorter and more buzzing than that of the nominate race. [5]

Distribution and habitat

In typical breeding habitat Anthus spinoletta - Water Pipit, Giresun 01-2.jpg
In typical breeding habitat

The breeding range of the water pipit is the mountains of southern Europe and Asia from Spain to central China, along with the Mediterranean islands of Sardinia and Corsica. [5] [9]

The water pipit is predominantly a mountain species in the breeding season, found in alpine pasture and high meadows with short grass and some bushes or rocks. It is typically found close to wetter areas and often on slopes. It breeds between 615–3,200 metres (2,020–10,500 ft) altitude, mostly 1,400–2,500 metres (4,600–8,200 ft). It migrates relatively short distances in autumn to lower ground, typically wintering on coastal wetlands, marshes, rice fields and similar habitats. Although most birds move to lowlands, some may remain at up to 2,000 metres (6,600 ft). Nominate A. s. spinoletta winters mainly in western and southern Europe and in northwestern Africa; in western Europe some birds show fidelity to the same wintering site, returning each year. [5] Birds in Spain appear to move only lower down the mountains in which they breed. [10] A.s. coutellii winters at lower altitudes near its breeding areas and also in the Arabian Peninsula and northeast Africa. A.s. blakistoni winters in Pakistan, northwest India and southern China. [5]

Water pipits leave their breeding sites from mid-September, although the eastern subspecies may start moving south before then. The spring migration starts in February and March, with arrival on the breeding grounds in April and May. [5] The water pipit has been recorded as a vagrant in Belarus, Gibraltar and Latvia, and on islands including the Canaries, Iceland, Malta and Svalbard. [1] [10]

Behaviour

The water pipit is a much less approachable bird as compared to the European rock pipit. It is warier than its relative and if approached it flies some distance before landing again, whereas the rock pipit typically travels only a short distance, close to the ground, before it alights. [11]

Breeding

Egg in Museum Wiesbaden Anthus spinoletta MWNH 1587 (cropped).JPG
Egg in Museum Wiesbaden

The water pipit is mainly monogamous, although both sexes may deviate from this occasionally. The male has a display flight in which he climbs to 10–30 metres (33–98 ft), flies in an arc and glides back down, singing throughout. The female constructs a cup nest from grass and leaves which is lined with finer plant material and animal hairs. The nest is hidden in vegetation on the ground, sometimes in a hollow. The normal clutch is four to six eggs laid from the end of April to early July. [5] Eggs are greyish white with darker grey or brownish speckles mainly at the wider end, [9] and they measure 21 by 16 millimetres (0.83 in × 0.63 in) and weigh 2.7 grams (0.095 oz) of which 5% is shell. [14]

The eggs are incubated by the female for 14–15 days to hatching. Chicks are fed initially by the male, both parents sharing the duty after a few days when the female does not need to brood so often, and they fledge in a further 14–15 days. [5] There may be two broods in a year. [14]

In a Swiss study of the nominate subspecies, 76% of eggs hatched, and 58% of chicks fledged. Birds of the race A. s. blakistoni in the Tian Shan hatched 90% of their eggs, and hatchlings survived to fledging in 47% of the nests. In the latter study, early nests were more likely to fail because less plant cover made them more likely to be found by predators. [10] Neither the average lifespan nor the maximum age of survival are known. [14] [15]

Feeding

Glacier fleas are a prey item found on snow fields IsotomaTiefenbach.jpg
Glacier fleas are a prey item found on snow fields

The water pipit's feeding habitat is damp grassland, rather than the rocky coasts favoured by the Eurasian rock pipit. [11] The water pipit feeds mainly on a wide range of invertebrates, including crickets and grasshoppers, beetles, snails, millipedes and spiders. Barkflies, true flies, caterpillars and homopterans can form a large part of the diet of fledglings. Birds close to snow fields take insects specialised for that habitat such as the springtails Isotoma saltans (the glacier flea) and I. nivalis, and the scorpion fly Boreus izyemalis. [10]

Birds normally forage alone or in pairs; in bad weather, foraging is more frequent and involves longer flights, and may be concentrated around marmot burrow entrances. Prey items average 8.3 millimetres (0.33 in) in length and are mainly hunted on foot, although flying insects are occasionally caught in the air. [5] Some plant material is taken, and one study on the border of Czechoslovakia and Poland found that 75% of the diet by volume consisted of algae, specifically Ulothrix zonata , despite large numbers of insects being available. [10]

In areas with acidic soils, there is less calcium available, potentially leading to thinner egg shells. In such locations, pipits are more likely to select snails and similar prey with calcium-rich shells than is the case in limestone terrain. [16]

Predators and parasites

The water pipit is hunted by birds of prey including the Eleonora's falcon, [17] and eggs and young may be taken by terrestrial predators including stoats and snakes. [5] As with other members of its genus, the water pipit is a host of the common cuckoo, a brood parasite. Eggs of cuckoos that specialise in parasitising pipits are similar in appearance to those of their hosts. [18]

A new species of feather mite, Proctophyllodes schwerinensis, was discovered on the water pipit, [19] which is also a host to the fleas Ceratophyllus borealis and Dasypsyllus gallinulae . [20] Along with other Motacillidae species, the water pipit is a host of the protozoan parasite Haemoproteus anthi . [21]

Status

Estimates of the European breeding population of the water pipit vary widely, but may be as high as two million pairs, which would suggest a global population of tens of millions of individuals spread over 3.7 millionsquare kilometres (1.4 millionsq mi). [1] The range is discontinuous due to the mountain habitat this species uses, [5] but the population is considered overall to be large and stable, and for this reason the water pipit is evaluated as a species of least concern by the IUCN. [1]

Breeding densities (in pairs per ten ha) have been recorded as 2.4 in the Jura Mountains, 3.0–3.6 in the Alps and 4.5 in the Tatra Mountains of Poland. [5] [lower-alpha 2]

Notes

  1. The parentheses show that the current genus name differs from that given originally
  2. The equivalents in pairs per ten acres are 1.0, 1.2–1.5 and 1.8 respectively

Related Research Articles

Common cuckoo Species of bird

The common cuckoo is a member of the cuckoo order of birds, Cuculiformes, which includes the roadrunners, the anis and the coucals.

White wagtail Species of bird

The white wagtail is a small passerine bird in the family Motacillidae, which also includes pipits and longclaws. The species breeds in much of Europe and the Asian Palearctic and parts of North Africa. It has a toehold in Alaska as a scarce breeder. It is resident in the mildest parts of its range, but otherwise migrates to Africa. In Ireland and Great Britain, the darker subspecies, the pied wagtail or water wagtail predominates. In total, there are between 9 and 11 subspecies.

Pipit Genus of birds

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.

Motacillidae Family of birds

The wagtails, longclaws, and pipits are a family, Motacillidae, of small passerine birds with medium to long tails. The around 70 species occur in five genera. The longclaws are entirely restricted to the Afrotropics, and the wagtails are predominantly found in Europe, Africa, and Asia, with two species migrating and breeding in Alaska. The pipits have the most cosmopolitan distribution, being found across mostly in the Old World, but occurring also in the Americas and oceanic islands such as New Zealand and the Falklands. Two African species, the yellow-breasted pipit and Sharpe's longclaw, are sometimes placed in a separate seventh genus, Hemimacronyx, which is closely related to the longclaws.

Short-toed treecreeper Species of bird

The short-toed treecreeper is a small passerine bird found in woodlands through much of the warmer regions of Europe and into north Africa. It has a generally more southerly distribution than the other European treecreeper species, the common treecreeper, with which it is easily confused where they both occur. The short-toed treecreeper tends to prefer deciduous trees and lower altitudes than its relative in these overlap areas. Although mainly sedentary, vagrants have occurred outside the breeding range.

Spotted flycatcher Species of bird

The spotted flycatcher is a small passerine bird in the Old World flycatcher family. It breeds in most of Europe and in the Palearctic to Siberia, and is migratory, wintering in Africa and south western Asia. It is declining in parts of its range.

Grey wagtail Species of bird

The grey wagtail is a member of the wagtail family, Motacillidae, measuring around 18–19 cm overall length. The species looks somewhat similar to the yellow wagtail but has the yellow on its underside restricted to the throat and vent. Breeding males have a black throat. The species is widely distributed, with several populations breeding in Eurosiberia and migrating to tropical regions in Asia and Africa. The species is always associated with running water when breeding, although they may use man-made structures near streams for the nest. Outside the breeding season, they may also be seen around lakes, coasts and other watery habitats. Like other wagtails, they frequently wag their tail and fly low with undulations and they have a sharp call that is often given in flight.

European rock pipit Small passerine bird that breeds in western Europe

The European rock pipit, or just rock pipit, is a species of small passerine bird that breeds in western Europe on rocky coasts. It has streaked greyish-brown upperparts and buff underparts, and is similar in appearance to other European pipits. There are three subspecies, of which only the Fennoscandian form is migratory, wintering in shoreline habitats further south in Europe. The European rock pipit is territorial at least in the breeding season, and year-round where it is resident. Males will sometimes enter an adjacent territory to assist the resident in repelling an intruder, behaviour only otherwise known from the African fiddler crab.

Richards pipit Species of bird

Richard's pipit is a medium-sized passerine bird which breeds in open grasslands in the East Palearctic. It is a long-distance migrant moving to open lowlands in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. It is a rare but regular vagrant to western Europe.

Meadow pipit Species of bird

The meadow pipit 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.

Tree pipit Species of bird

The tree pipit is a small passerine bird which breeds across most of Europe and the Palearctic as far East as the East Siberian Mountains. It is a long-distance migrant moving in winter to Africa and southern Asia. The scientific name is from Latin. Anthus is the name for a small bird of grasslands, and the specific trivialis means "common", from trivium, "public street".

Buff-bellied pipit Species of bird

The buff-bellied pipit or American pipit is a small songbird found on both sides of the northern Pacific. It was first described by Marmaduke Tunstall in his 1771 Ornithologia Britannica. It was formerly classified as a form of the water pipit. It is known as "American pipit" in North America and "buff-bellied pipit" in Eurasia.

Paddyfield pipit Species of bird

The paddyfield pipit or Oriental pipit is a small passerine bird in the pipit and wagtail family. It is a resident (non-migratory) breeder in open scrub, grassland and cultivation in southern Asia east to the Philippines. Although among the few breeding pipits in the Asian region, identification becomes difficult in winter when several other species migrate into the region. The taxonomy of the species is complex and has undergone considerable changes.

Australasian pipit Species of bird

The Australasian pipit is a fairly small passerine bird of open country in Australia, New Zealand and New Guinea. It belongs to the pipit genus Anthus in the family Motacillidae.

Cape wagtail Species of bird

The Cape wagtail, also known as Wells's wagtail, is a small insectivorous bird which is widespread in southern Africa. It frequents water's edge, lawns and gardens. It is a mostly resident, territorial species, but has been known to undertake limited altitudinal migration or form flocks outside of the breeding season. Like other wagtails they are passerine birds of the family Motacillidae, which also includes the pipits and longclaws.

Nilgiri pipit Species of bird

The Nilgiri pipit is a distinctive species of pipit that is endemic to the high altitude hills of southern India. Richer brown in colour than other pipits in the region, it is distinctive in having the streaking on the breast continuing along the flanks. It is non-migratory and has a tendency to fly into low trees when disturbed and is closely related to the tree pipits Anthus hodgsoni and Anthus trivialis.

Siberian accentor Small passerine bird that breeds in northern Russia

The Siberian accentor is a small passerine bird that breeds in northern Russia from the Ural Mountains eastwards across Siberia. It is migratory, wintering in Korea and eastern China, with rare occurrences in western Europe and northwestern North America. Its typical breeding habitat is subarctic deciduous forests and open coniferous woodland, often close to water, although it also occurs in mountains and spruce taiga. It inhabits bushes and shrubs in winter, frequently near streams, but may also be found in dry grassland and woods.

African pipit Species of bird

The African pipit is a fairly small passerine bird belonging to the pipit genus Anthus in the family Motacillidae. It is also known as the grassveld pipit or grassland pipit. It was formerly lumped together with the Richard's, Australasian, mountain and paddyfield pipits in a single species, Richard's pipit, but is now often treated as a species in its own right.

Wood pipit Species of bird

The wood pipit or woodland pipit is a small passerine bird belonging to the pipit genus Anthus in the family Motacillidae. It was formerly included in the long-billed pipit but is now frequently treated as a separate species. It is a bird of miombo woodland in south-central Africa, unlike the long-billed pipit which inhabits open grassland. It perches in trees when flushed but forages on the ground for invertebrates.

Mediterranean flycatcher Species of bird

The Mediterranean flycatcher is a small passerine bird in the Old World flycatcher family. It breeds on the Balearic Islands, Corsica and Sardinia, and is migratory, wintering in Africa. The International Ornithologists' Union has split the species from the spotted flycatcher, but other taxonomic authorities considered it still conspecific.

References

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