African Pipit

Photo by Leon
Potchefstroom, South Africa, June 2004

Anthus cinnamomeus

Includes: Cameroon Pipit

Identification

15 to 17 cm

• Buff-brown streaky upperparts
• White or pale buff underparts
• Streaked breast
• Unstreaked belly and flanks
• Boldly patterned face; pale eyestripe, dark malar stripe
• Whitish outer tail-feathers
• Long pink legs
• Slender dark bill with a yellowish base to the lower mandible
  

Juvenile birds have a blotched breast, scalloping on the upperparts and some streaking on the flanks.

Similar Species

Long-billed Pipit, which has buff outer tail and a sparrow-like call.

Distribution

This is the most common Pipit in eastern and southern Africa.
Western Africa: Mauritania, Guinea, Mali, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Benin, Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Congo, Angola
Eastern Africa: Sudan, South Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Somalia, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Zanzibar, Zambia, Mozambique, Malawi
Southern Africa: Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, South Africa, KwaZulu-Natal, Lesotho, Swaziland
Middle East: Arabian Peninsula, Saudi Arabia, Yemen

Taxonomy

More than ten subspecies recognized.
This species was formerly regarded 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^[1]

• A. c. lynesi:

• South-eastern Nigeria to Cameroon and western Sudan (Darfur)

• A. c. camaroonensis:

• Cameroon (Mount Cameroon and Mount Manenguba)

• A. c. stabilis:

• Central and southeastern Sudan and eastern South Sudan

• A. c. cinnamomeus:

• Highlands of western and south-eastern Ethiopia

• A. c. eximius:

• Yemen

• A. c. annae:

• Eritrea to Ethiopia, Djibouti, Somalia, eastern Kenya and north-eastern Tanzania

• A. c. itombwensis:

• Eastern Zaire (Itombwe Highlands and Mount Kabobo)

• A. c. lacuum:

• Kenya to south-eastern Uganda and central Tanzania

• A. c. lichenya:

• North-eastern Angola to southern Zaire, western Uganda, western Tanzania and Mozambique

• A. c. spurius:

• North-eastern Namibia to northern Botswana, southern Malawi and southern Mozambique

• A. c. bocagei:

• Angola to Botswana, Zimbabwe, southern Mozambique and northern Cape Province

• A. c. grotei:

• Salt pans of northern Namibia and northern Botswana

• A. c. rufuloides:

• South Africa (except north-west), Swaziland and Lesotho lowlands

Some authors split camaroonensis from Cameroon as Cameroon Pipit.
Jackson's Pipit is sometimes included as a subspecies in this species.

Habitat

Open habitats at altitudes of up to over 3000 m, grasslands and fields.

Behaviour

It has an undulating flight and can often be seen perching on posts and bushes. On the ground it walks with a strutting gait and often holds itself very erect.

Vocalisation

The song is a repeated series of twittering notes, given during an undulating song-flight or from a low perch.

References

1. 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/
2. Avibase
3. Birdforum thread discussing id of an African Pipit
4. Wikipedia

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) African Pipit. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 24 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/African_Pipit

External Links

Search for photos of African Pipit in the gallery