Alternative name: Yellowtufted Pipit; African Rock Pipit
- Anthus crenatus
Identification
Length 17-18 cm (6¾-7 in)
This Pipit has a plain brown back and distinctive pale eyebrow. The wings are brown with yellow markings (visible only at close range) and the breast is buffy brown with slight streaking (also only visible at close range).
The lower mandible has a yellowish base; the rest of the bill is dark brown.
Similar species
Nicholson's Pipit, African Pipit, Mountain Pipit (clearly streaked backs), Buffy Pipit (pinkish base to bill, and rarely in rocky habitats), and Plain-backed Pipit (more distinctly marked breast and no yellow wing markings).
Distribution
South African interior (south of 26° S) and Lesotho.
Taxonomy
This is a monotypic species[1].
Habitat
Rocky and bushy hills and mountains.
Behaviour
Diet
Locally common, but seldom seen unless singing from a perch on a rock, as it spends much of the day on the ground, where it forages for insects, spiders and seeds.
Breeding
November to January. The nest is a cup of grass under or against a grass tuft or rock. Two to three eggs are laid and young are fed by both adults.
Vocalisation
Best identified by voice, a loud, repeated "whee-tsrreeu", markedly different from the calls of other Pipits.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2018. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2018. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Hockey, PAR, WRJ Dean, and PG Ryan, eds. 2005. Roberts' Birds of Southern Africa. 7th ed. Cape Town: John Voelcker Bird Book Fund. ISBN 978-0620340533
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Yellow-tufted Pipit. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 19 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Yellow-tufted_Pipit
