Pipit - Somerset, UK (1 Viewer)

[dwatsonbirder]

I'm keen to hear thoughts on this pipit I observed in Somerset yesterday (confidential site). Appreciate that image quality is beyond poor, and that identification may not be possible - images and video taken by handholding my phone to my binoculars.
I was somewhat perplexed by the strong white tramlines on the mantle and the clear white wing bars on the greater and median coverts. The edging to the tertails looked pretty clean too - giving the bird a rather stripy appearance.
Other features noted in the field were flank streaking extending down the flanks with the same intensity to the chest, no "black smudge" that I believe it typical of Meadow pipit (or at least is a commonly seen feature). The bird didn't call, and I didn't get any detail on the head, bill, legs or rump unfortunately.
It seems likely that the most likely species (Mippit) fits, but I can't recall such a striking bird before, and can't find much information on Whistleri birds. The contrasting appearance had me worried about two very unlikely vagrant candidates, despite how unlikely either would be!

Thanks in advance.​

Left hand bird in below image:


...and a fraction of video:
View attachment 20220228_093503_001.mp4

 

[KenM]

Looks like a Lapland Bunting as per freezing the video.

Cheers

 

[Butty]

Please don't send us a photo of your screen, Ken 🙏

 

[dwatsonbirder]

I can sort of see where you are coming from Ken, but it was definitely a pipit and not a bunting...

 

[Richard D]

To be honest from the photos I couldn't tell whether it was a Pipit or Skylark, but from your description I think it's just a particularly streaky mippit

 

[Prestdj]

does the last picture show a water pipit?

 

[KenM]

The bird on the deck and in flight, is a Lapland bunting imo.

I can sort of see where you are coming from Ken, but it was definitely a pipit and not a bunting...

As you said the braces were a bit “wide” for a Pipit.
In flight (freeze a frame around the top of the barbed wire) there is also a contrasty dark bar tram-lined with white on the wing, to my eye def not a Pipit, but what looks very much like a Lapland Bunting?

Cheers

 

[KenM]

Here’s a frame grab…..odd looking Pipit…with an extremely odd looking wing bar?

Cheers

 

[Derbyfella]

Please don't send us a photo of your screen, Ken 🙏

oh dear!

 

[Butty]

Here’s a frame grab

No, it isn't. You've got one, but you've chosen not to post it.

Pipit…with an extremely odd looking wing bar

Two wing-bars. Normal ones.

ML392649871 - Meadow Pipit - Macaulay Library

Macaulay Library ML392649871; © Ged Tranter; Aude, Occitanie, France

macaulaylibrary.org

Or, for a water pipit's wing-bars in flight, open your field guide.

 

[KenM]

On reflection, I should have taken on board the “handheld over bins and videod with a cellphone.”
Full marks for capturing an image period!

Of course one should always make allowances with that “set-up”, as image quality can get very “contrasty” often seen on BF with cell phone images.

Clearly, the central dark bar was not as dark as it appeared…Oh well, onwards and upwards! 😩

 

[Xenospiza]

does the last picture show a water pipit?

The bird on the right certainly struck me as one, but with this type of photos anything can happen...
The other bird is a somewhat stripy Meadow Pipit.

 

[dwatsonbirder]

Thanks for the commentary, I'm happy to go with the consensus (?) that it was a particularly streaky Mippit, the features of which have been somewhat exacerbated by my very poor attempts to capture an image in a highly unconventional manner!

 

[dwatsonbirder]

does the last picture show a water pipit?

That you've asked that question is probably quite telling of how poor these images are, and clearly they don't reflect views in the field - the right hand bird was a very bog-standard Mippit!