Meadow pipit

The meadow pipit is a bird that is often seen and heard in upland areas of the United Kingdom, especially in summer.

Habitat and distribution

The meadow pipit (anthus pratensis) is a common songbird in upland areas, where it breeds mostly on moors and open pastures, but it also inhabits coastal dunes and marshes. In winter it moves to lower land, including farmland and even urban parks and playing fields. In appearance, behaviour and habitat it is not unlike the skylark, so confusion between the species is possible.

The meadow pipit is widespread in northern and central Europe, with those in the most northerly regions migrating to the Mediterranean in the autumn. In the United Kingdom the meadow pipit can be found most commonly in the west and north, with a southward shift for the winter months as birds move off the higher land.

Appearance and behaviour

The meadow pipit is 14-15 centimetres (5-6 inches) in length. The plumage is streaky olive-brown above and lighter whitish-grey to buff below, with darker spots. The winter plumage is generally greyer. The sides of the tail are white. The legs are pinkish brown with long hind-claws. Male and female meadow pipits are similar in appearance.

In flight the meadow pipit rises and falls in jerks, except when the male bird performs his song flight that consists of rising straight up to about 100 feet then descending by “parachuting” with the wings held stiffly and turned up. At other times the meadow pipit prefers to stay on the ground but will also perch on trees and posts.

  

The meadow pipit is more gregarious in winter than summer, gathering in small flocks and flying upwards if disturbed.

The song is a shrill and hurried “seep seep” or an alarm call of “tissip”. The song-flight song is a whistling trill.

Food for meadow pipits consists of flies, beetles, moths, worms and spiders, supplemented with seeds later in the year.

Breeding

Meadow pipits reach their breeding grounds in March or April, which is when the males perform their display. A nest is built on the ground in May or June, sometimes earlier, and it consists of grass stems, reeds or moss, lined with animal hairs. The nest is concealed in a clump of grass. The clutch is of four or five eggs which are incubated by the female alone for up to 14 days. Both parents feed the young, for up to 13 days, after which the chicks leave the nest. They will be fully independent two weeks after that and the parents will then raise a second brood.

The meadow pipit has amber conservation status in the United Kingdom as a species that is under some threat but not in immediate danger.

© John Welford