Alternative name: Oriental Pipit
- Anthus rufulus
Identification
15–16 cm (5¾-6 in)
- Long creamy-buff supercilium
- Upperparts streaked greyish-brown
- Pale underparts with breast streaking
- Long legs andd tail and a long dark bill
- Sexes are similar
- Juveniles have warmer brown upperparts.
Distribution
Asia: found in Mongolia, China, Nepal, Pakistan, India, Eastern and Western Himalayas, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Japan
Southeast Asia: Indochina, Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, Malay Peninsula, Brunei, Singapore, Philippines, Borneo, Indonesia, Greater Sundas, Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, Lesser Sundas, Bali, Timor
Taxonomy
This species was formerly a part of a much larger species called Anthus novaseelandiae which was split in African Pipit, Mountain Pipit, Paddyfield Pipit, Richard's Pipit and Australasian Pipit.
Subspecies
Around six subspecies recognized[1]
- A. r. waitei:
- North-western Indian subcontinent
- A. r. rufulus:
- A. r. malayensis:
- Extreme south-western India, Sri Lanka, Malay Peninsula, Greater Sundas, southern Indochina
- A. r. lugubris:
- Philippines, Palawan and (possibly) northern Borneo
- A. r. albidus:
- Sulawesi, Bali and western Lesser Sundas (Lombok to Sumba)
- A. r. medius:
- Eastern Lesser Sundas (Sawu, Timor, Roti, Kisar, Leti, Moa, Sermata)
Habitat
Open country, grasslands, ricefields, scrub and parks up to 1500m.
Behaviour
Movements
A resident species.
Photo by Alok Tewari
Sultanpur National Park, Gurgaon, Haryana, India, August-2016
Breeding
A ground-nester.
Diet
Their main diet consists of insects
Vocalisation
<flashmp3>paddyfield_pipit_alok.mp3</flashmp3>
Listen in an external program
Recording by Alok Tewari
Sultanpur village, Dist. Gurgaon Haryana, India, Aug-2016
Cummunating call given by one individual at Sunset-time;
and another brief call by an individual as it flew off.
<flashmp3>paddyfield_pipit_alok-2.mp3</flashmp3>
Listen in an external program
Nazafgarh Wetlands, Dist. Gurgaon Haryana, India, Dec-2016
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2017. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2017, with updates to August 2017. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Avibase
- Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved October 2015)
- Wikipedia
- BF Member observations
- Here is a thread discussing the identification of Paddyfield Pipit. [[1]]
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Paddyfield Pipit. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 26 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Paddyfield_Pipit
External Links
