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Tree Pipit OR Meadow Pipit - Isle of Wight, England (1 Viewer)

traceyj

Active member
England
Please can you help me - I took this photograph of a Pipit this morning at Mottistone Down, Isle of Wight, UK. I think it MAY be a Tree Pipit but I would very much appreciate a second opinion on this. My reasoning for thinking it's a Tree Pipit rather than a Meadow Pipit is due to the colouration of the beak, the ear spot on the first photo, pinkish legs and the colour contrast between the chest and the tummy. Any input would be gratefully appreciated - thank you.
 

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Looks like a Meadow Pipit even though it's perched on a tree :)
Note:
  • Stripes on flanks are as thick as stripes on the breast,
  • A bit slimmer bill,
  • The sub moustachial stripe is narrower (and darker),
  • Prominent white eyering.
I hope it helped.
Cheers! :)
 
I think tree as the lower pic suggests hind claw is not ridiculously long
I think it's probably Tree too. Note the dark line on the lores. The bill seems quite chunky to me, although it's not easy to judge. Note that the flank streaking is not visible in those photos.
I think that the streaks on the flanks are visible - on both photos. Don't you think that the Tree Pipit would have much thinner streaks on the flanks? I think the hind claw can't be an ID clincher in this case, because it's not completely visible. And the face, well, it is a bit more patterned that in usual Meadow Pipits (prominent supercilium, dark lores) but the white eyering can also be seen which is a feature of the Meadow Pipit. I also think that the Tree Pipit would have broader and whiter sub moustachial stripe. Additionally, there's no contrast between yellowish breast and white belly; I know it's not a very reliable feature, but still...
 
I think that the streaks on the flanks are visible - on both photos. Don't you think that the Tree Pipit would have much thinner streaks on the flanks? I think the hind claw can't be an ID clincher in this case, because it's not completely visible. And the face, well, it is a bit more patterned that in usual Meadow Pipits (prominent supercilium, dark lores) but the white eyering can also be seen which is a feature of the Meadow Pipit. I also think that the Tree Pipit would have broader and whiter sub moustachial stripe.
The face pattern is wrong for meadow. Flank streaks is not a consistent feature: ML259407961 - Tree Pipit - Macaulay Library
 
I think that the streaks on the flanks are visible - on both photos. Don't you think that the Tree Pipit would have much thinner streaks on the flanks? I think the hind claw can't be an ID clincher in this case, because it's not completely visible. And the face, well, it is a bit more patterned that in usual Meadow Pipits (prominent supercilium, dark lores) but the white eyering can also be seen which is a feature of the Meadow Pipit. I also think that the Tree Pipit would have broader and whiter sub moustachial stripe. Additionally, there's no contrast between yellowish breast and white belly; I know it's not a very reliable feature, but still...
I can only see streaking to the lower breast. The flank streaking is either concealed by vegetation (first photo) or the bird is too front on (second).
 
The face pattern is wrong for meadow. Flank streaks is not a consistent feature: ML259407961 - Tree Pipit - Macaulay Library
Not disagreeing with your ID but in the photo you link to, the flank streaks are clearly thinner than the breast streaking. The relative thickness of the two (rather than the absolute thickness) is the ID feature (see the Collins guide on this).
 
Not disagreeing with your ID but in the photo you link to, the flank streaks are clearly thinner than the breast streaking. The relative thickness of the two (rather than the absolute thickness) is the ID feature (see the Collins guide on this).
Hi, I think I poorly explained what I meant.

I'm trying to say that over-reliance on this feature for people who aren't too familiar with either species is not consistent and often leads to misidentification. See this meadow pipit: ML273995861 - Meadow Pipit - Macaulay Library. It appears to have thinner streaking on the flanks. It is much easier in the long term to get familiar with the face pattern, identification that way is much easier.
 
Well, I have nothing to say, but agree it's a Tree Pipit then...
And by the way don't you think that Meadow Pipits during summer, in worn plumage, can have a face pattern more similar to the Tree Pipit with a more prominent supercilium (as shown in the Collins Guide)?
 
Well, I have nothing to say, but agree it's a Tree Pipit then...
And by the way don't you think that Meadow Pipits during summer, in worn plumage, can have a face pattern more similar to the Tree Pipit with a more prominent supercilium (as shown in the Collins Guide)?
Not in my experience... if you could find a photo of a summer meadow pipit then maybe I could help. It's also all about a balance of features; perhaps a Meadow Pipit has a larger-than-usual supercilium, but if the lores aren't dark, there's no eyestripe, the submoustachial stripe is narrow and there's a yellow base to a long-ish bill, it's still a Meadow Pipit.

EDIT: sorry I mixed up my words in the last sentence
 
Not in the case of Meadow Pipit which can show very thin flank streaking. Pic taken on Gotland, two months ago.
But as I pointed out above, the feature is not that the flank streaks are thin (in an absolute sense) but that they are thinner than the breast streaking (in a relative sense). In the picture you post here, the flank streaks are thin but so are the breast streaks. They are about the same thickness, as would be expected on a Meadow Pipit.
 

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