Red-Throated Pipit Anthus Cervinus in Australia

VOL. 17 (1) MARCH 1997 3 AUSTRALIAN BIRD WATCHER 1997, 17, 3-10 Red-throated Pipit Anthus cervinus in Australia by MIKE CARTER, 30 Canadian Bay Road, Mt Eliza, Victoria 3930 Summary A Red-throated Pipit Anthus cervinus was at Broome, Western Australia, from 6 to 9 January 1992. This first record for Australia is described. Identification criteria and difficulties are discussed. This occurrence followed a season in which unprecedented numbers of Red-throated Pipits were recorded along the Pacific coast of North America. It is suggested that the two events are a consequence of a successful breeding season in the Arctic in 1991. Introduction Soon after dawn on 6 January 1992, George Swann, Neil Macumber, Tom Smith and I went to the main sporting oval in Broome, Western Australia. We found a pipit Anthus sp. which was smaller, darker and more boldly marked than the Australian Richard's Pipit A. novaeseelandiae australis. Realising that it was a species not previously recorded in Australia, we studied the bird intently for half an hour before, alarmed by our constant pursuit, it disappeared. We then acquired whatever literature was immediately available on the subject of pipits and attempted to resolve the problem of identification. Swann searched the oval again on 7 January unsuccessfully, but the pipit was relocated next day and also on 9 January. Over these two days, Swann, Macumber and myself each spent between five and ten hours observing the bird, refining our descriptions and obtaining photographs. The data we obtained enabled identification to be confirmed as a Red-throated Pipit A. cervinus. Habitat The oval lies at the northern edge of the town. It is situated between the commercial centre and open spaces formed by the airport and an inlet from the bay, with salt tolerant vegetation subject to flooding . A sprinkler system watered the grass daily so it was green and lush, an oasis in an otherwise arid region. A few boggy hollows were the Pipit's favourite spots. Before the oval was mown on 9 January, the grass, particularly in the hollows, was long enough to partly conceal the bird. Observational equipment and conditions Overcast-, very dull conditions pertained when the bird was first seen early on the morning of 6 January_ Brighter conditions prevailed on 8 and 9 January when views and photographs were obtained at ranges down to 6 m. Optical aids included Zeiss 8 X 56 and 10 X 40 binoculars and Kowa telescopes at X25 and greater magnification. The photographs reproduced here were taken on 200 ASA Kodachrome slide film. Description Superficially the bird resembled the Australian Richard's Pipit but was much smaller, darker and browner on the upperparts and with bolder, more extensive black streaking on the underparts. Lateral and frontal aspects are shown in Plate 1 (front cover). Another photograph, printed alongside one of a Richard's Pipit taken on the same day at the same location, illustrated a note announcing the find (Carter 1992). Shape and size. Shape similar to Richard's Pipit, but by direct comparison noted to be only two thirds the size with comparatively shorter legs and shorter tail. The size judgement was influenced AUSTRALIAN 4 CARTER BIRD WATCHER by bulk as well as length. A little smaller than an adjacent Yellow Wagtail Motacilla jlava but plumper and with a comparatively much shorter tail and shorter legs. Movements and gait. When found on 6 January, the bird was sluggish and unapproachable, seeking cover and refuge. On 8 and 9 January it was very active, moving through the grass, bobbing and dipping as it ran. The high level of activity on the latter dates suggests that we found the bird soon after its arrival in Australia. When not disturbed it spent all of its time on the ground. It had a much lower and more horizontal carriage than Richard's Pipit because the legs were acutely bent at the ankles with the tarsi barely clear of the ground. Flight. Strong and undulating. Calls. A triple call described as 'whistling' by one of my companions was heard on each day, uttered by the bird in flight, usually on rising. I heard the call as a high-pitched tew tew tew. It was softer, shorter and more clipped than the call of Richard's Pipit. I could hear the loud, drawn-out, more liquid, vibrant calls of Richard's Pipit easily from 100 to 200 m away, but not the Red-throated Pipit. Swann thought the call better written as dew dew dew. Smith described a call from the bird in flight at 40 m range on 6 J~U~uary as a medium-pitched, disyllabic te-eze, slightly drawn-out, repeated three times. Bill. Finer, slightly less robust than in Richard's Pipit and more resembling Yellow Wagtail's in shape. Initially it appeared to be wholly dark, even blackish, but when open whilst the bird was panting in the heat it appeared yellowish. In good light at very close range, the upper mandible was seen to be mostly dark with a small strip of flesh-pink on the cutting edge at the extreme base. The lower mandible was flesh-pink at the sides but black at the tip. Legs and feet. The legs and toes were absolutely and relatively thinner and shorter than those of Richard's Pipit. A portion of the tibia above the joint was bare, whereas in Richard's Pipit the feathering reached the ankle. The bare parts, including the claws, were a bright fleshy pink, at times inclining to orange. When in shadow, they appeared darker than those of Richard's Pipit. A long hind claw is visible in two photographs. It appears to be roughly equal in length to the hind toe and arched in shape, with a rise about equal to twice the thickness of the toe at the base of the claw. Head and neck. The forehead and crown were dark brown, finely and closely streaked with buff. The nape and sides of the neck were several shades paler and less prominently streaked. The eyes were dark. A broad pale supercilium extended from the !ores above each eye to the back of the ear coverts. Although quite obvious, this was less prominent than the supercilium on Richard's Pipit, especially in dull light, probably because it was huffish rather than white. The anterior half had a pale rufous tinge. When viewed from behind in sunlight, it appeared much redder as though the underside or the base of the feathers was more strongly coloured. The triangular ear-covert patches were pale brown centrally, plain and unstreaked, shading darker at the sides so they were completely bordered with dark brown, broadest at the rear, surrounded with paler tones. The upper borders formed dark eye-lines reaching almost to the nape. Anteriorly, these narrowed, each extending as a very fine line (difficult to see) across the otherwise pale !ores reaching almost to the base of the bill. The dark lower edge of the ear-coverts formed moustachial stripes. The chin, throat, cheeks and a stripe running up behind the ear-coverts were white. On each side of the throat was a black malar stripe. This was a narrow but well-marked triangular streak extending upwards from a large and prominent coalesced group of black spots on the side of the neck, the upper point of which fell well short of the base of the bill. The white area between the malar and moustachial stripes formed a broad and prominent, triangular-shaped, submoustachial stripe. At the base of this stripe and below the dense black nuchal spotting and intermingled with it, were traces of brick-red. This was quite evident at close range in bright light on the right side of the neck, but was more restricted and less obvious on the left. It became more noticeable when the neck was stretched and the head turned away. Underparts. White throughout, boldly streaked with black on the breast and along the flanks. The streaking was more concentrated in the centre of the breast but more extensive at the sides. Depending on the alignment of the feathers, the flank streaks usually joined up to form two distinct continuous black lines extending through to the vent. Some photographs show a dusky smudge or spot on the lateral undertail coverts. In the centre of the breast the black streaks were so dense that at times they overlapped to form an asymmetrical blotch. The chin and throat were white and unstreaked. An adjoining area of similar size and shape on the upper breast was also white and unstreaked, giving a scooped top appearance to the streaked breast when the bird was face-on. Upperparts. From a distance the upperparts seemed to be fairly uniform dark brown lacking pattern or contrast. There was in fact some patterning but this was only visible at close range. The general colour was a darker richer brown than the pale sandy upperparts of the local Richard's Pipits. The mantle was completely plain, a very dark cold brown which contrasted strongly with the lightly streaked nape. The lower back and rump were much paler, the same general colour as the nape. The back was unstreaked but it was extremely difficult to see whether the rump was streaked because it tended to be obscured by the wings. In the field I thought the central rump was fairly plain. VOL. 17 (1) MARCH 1997 Red-throated Pipit in Australia 5 A row of four or five dark blobs on the sides of the rump and lateral uppertail coverts was visible, but rather inconspicuous, and might not have been noticed if I had not been looking for streaks in this area.

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