Long-billed Pipit

Photo by firecrest15
Mkuze Game Reserve, north-eastern South Africa, May 2014

Anthus similis

Includes: Bannerman's Pipit

Identification

17–20 cm

• Sandy grey upperparts
• Whitish or pale buff underparts
• Streaked breast

Similar Species

Similar to the African Pipit, but has a heavier build, less-clearly marked face and under parts, a buffy outer tail, and usually a longer bill. Best identified by the display and call.

Distribution

Photo by jdbirdman
Namibia, November 2004

Africa and South Asia
Northern Africa: occurs only in Egypt
Western Africa: Senegambia, Senegal, Guinea, Mali, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Nigeria, Niger, Chad, Cameroon, Gabon, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Angola, Zaire
Eastern Africa: Sudan, South Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Zambia, Mozambique, Malawi
Southern Africa: Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, South Africa, KwaZulu-Natal, Lesotho, eSwatini
Middle East: Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Jordan
Arabian Peninsula: Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Iran, Asia: Afghanistan, Nepal
South Asia: Pakistan, India, Eastern and Western Himalayas, Bangladesh, Bhutan
Southeast Asia: Indochina, Myanmar

Taxonomy

Subspecies A. s. jerdoni
Photo by Alok Tewari
Gurgaon, Haryana, India, Dec-2016

Subspecies

Subspecies A. s. decaptus
Photo by Alok Tewari
Khijadiya Bird Sanctuary, Jamnagar, Gujarat, India, Dec-2017

This species has 19 subspecies^[1]:

• A. s. bannermani: Mountains of south-western Mali, Guinea, Sierra Leone, northern Liberia to western Cameroon
• A. s. captus: Lebanon, Syria, Israel, Palestine and western Jordan
• A. s. arabicus: South-western, southern and south-eastern Arabian Peninsula
• A. s. sokotrae: Socotra Island
• A. s. chyuluensis: Kenya and northern Tanzania
• A. s. asbenaicus: Southern Sahara in central and eastern Mali and central Niger
• A. s. jebelmarrae: Mountains of western and central Sudan
• A. s. nivescens: Mountains of south-eastern Egypt; coastal Red Sea in north-eastern Sudan to northern Kenya
• A. s. hararensis: highlands of Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, and northern Tanzania
• A. s. dewittei: Highlands of eastern DRC, south-western Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, and Angola
• A. s. palliditinctus: Extreme south-western Angola and north-western Namibia
• A. s. leucocraspedon: Western and southern Namibia and south-western South Africa
• A. s. nicholsoni: South-eastern Botswana and north-eastern South Africa
• A. s. petricolus: Lesotho and eastern South Africa
• A. s. primarius: Southern South Africa (southern Western Cape to northern Eastern Cape)
• A. s. decaptus: Southern Iran to western Pakistan; winters to north-western India
• A. s. jerdoni: Mountains of eastern Afghanistan to western Nepal; winters to north-central India, Bangladesh
• A. s. similis: Peninsular India (Bombay to Karnataka and western Tamil Nadu)
• A. s. travancoriensis: South-western India
• A. s. yamethini: Central Myanmar

Bannermani from western Africa is sometimes split as Anthus bannermani, Bannerman's Pipit.

Habitat

Rough stony hillsides with sparse vegetation.

Behaviour

Breeding

Ground nesters; the clutch consists of 2-4 eggs.

Diet

Their diet includes insects such as grasshoppers, crickets and beetles; seeds and grit.

References

1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2014. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: Version 6.9., with updates to August 2014. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
2. Avibase
3. Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved March 2015)
4. Wikipedia

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Long-billed Pipit. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 12 May 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Long-billed_Pipit

External Links

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