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Water or Meadow Pipit (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter RICHARD DAWKINS
- Start date
deborah4
Well-known member
Hi Richard
No expert by all means, especially from this angle, but it looks more like a rather worn Meadow Pipit to me (hence amount of 'white' around eye and lores). The mantle and head are rather boldly streaked and lack the more even greyer tones of a Water Pipit. Tail sides are not obviously white, perhaps again, just rather worn as is rump. Bill looks fairly stoutish at the base cf. to W.P.
Just my pennies worth but could be right wrong!
No expert by all means, especially from this angle, but it looks more like a rather worn Meadow Pipit to me (hence amount of 'white' around eye and lores). The mantle and head are rather boldly streaked and lack the more even greyer tones of a Water Pipit. Tail sides are not obviously white, perhaps again, just rather worn as is rump. Bill looks fairly stoutish at the base cf. to W.P.
Just my pennies worth but could be right wrong!
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Alan Tilmouth
Well-known member
Overall olive brown tone and slim bill on this bird make it a Meadow Pipit. Also think the leg colour looks pinkish and there dont appear to be any really obvious white tail sides.
Steven Astley
Well-known member
Agree with Meadow pipit. At this time of year water pipits are more distinctive than Meadow.
What I did Richard, to aid identification, was to twitch a Water Pipit, otherwise if you are looking for them you could end up thinking every other Meadow was a Water Pipit.
The only problem is that it was a few years ago and I have forgot what they look like :-O
What I did Richard, to aid identification, was to twitch a Water Pipit, otherwise if you are looking for them you could end up thinking every other Meadow was a Water Pipit.
The only problem is that it was a few years ago and I have forgot what they look like :-O
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deborah4
Well-known member
They're fairly distinctive most times of the year, if you can familiarise yourself with structural differences and call of course - during the Autumn/winter, Meadow Pipits are in fresh plumage, but, just to be aware of putting too much emphasis on face/upperpart plumage as the year progresses as they can begin to look very worn and can give a rather pale/greyish and washed out overall appearance, . (Leg colour a good distinction in summer if you can see the legs and breast too) - (I personally can't see legs in this pic!) but the other features mentioned rule out Water. Having said that, I hate Iding pipits, even more so from photos!
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