The field identification of North American Ben King Illustrated by Peter Hayman and Pieter Prall

LTHOUGHTHEWATER (Anthus ground in open country. However, the in this paper. inoletta) and the Sprague's Pipit two speciesof tree-pipits use trees for (Antbus spragueit)are fairly easy to rec- singing and refuge and are often in NCEABIRD HAS been recognized asa ogmze using the current popular field wooded areas. pipit, the first thing to checkis the guides, the five more recently All the pipits discussedin the paper, ground color of the back. Is it brown added to the North American list are except perhaps the Sprague's, move (what shade?), olive, or gray? Then note more difficult to identify and sometimes their tails in a peculiarpumping motion, the black streaks on the back. Are they present a real field challenge. The field down and then up. Some species broad or narrow, sharply or vaguely de- •dentffication of these latter specieshas "pump" their tails more than others. fined, conspicuousor faint? How exten- not yet been adequatelydealt with in the This tail motion is often referred to as sive are they? Then check for pale North American literature. However, "wagging." While the term "wag" does streaks on the back. Are there none, much field work on the identification of include up and down motion as well as two, four, many? What color are they-- pipits has been done in the last few side to side movement, it is better to use whitish, buff, brownish buff? Are they years, especially in Alaska and the the more specificterm "pump" which is conspicuousor faint? Discerningthese Urnted Kingdom. This paper is an at- restricted to up and down movements characteristics of the back will narrow tempt to summarize what is now known and more preciselydescribes what pipits your down to one or two species. about the field identification of the do with their tails. Then the color of the underparts should sevenspecies of pipits that are known to Note that while some specieshave dis- be studied. Are they white, buff, pinkish occur in North America. tinct breeding(spring) and non-breeding buff? Are they concolorous or is the All sevenspecies of pipits treated here (fall) ,a few individuals(prob- breast or throat a different color from are 6-7 inches (15-18 cm.) in length and ably first year) of those speciesdo not the belly? Is there little, moderate or have a slender build, a thin warbler-like acquire breedingplumage in the spring. heavy black streakingon the breast?Are bill, streakeddark upperpartswith a pale Thus non-breeding plumaged are there streaks on the flanks? What color eyebrow and two pale wing bars, a dark regularly seenin spring and can be con- is the eyebrow? Is it white, buff or pink- tall with white or whitish outer tail fusing. ish buff? Is it all one color? Does the feathers, pale underparts, usually with The calls of the pipits are all similar, bird pump its tail down and up? How some dark streakson the breast. Pipits and yet mostly distinct. However, the frequently? Is the hindclaw shorter or walk, rather than hop, often with some differencesare often subtle and require longer than the hindtoe? By the time tall movement. Their flight is undulating experience to detect in the field. you've answered these questions, most and they often give a distinct call when Observers,especially those in Alaska, pipits will already be identified. Those flushed or flying. Most sing their songs should be aware that speciesnot yet few that aren't will require more careful while hovering, gliding, fluttering or found in North Americamight eventual- study, both of the bird and the following circling in the air. They feed on the ly occur. Thosespecies are not dealt with text to determinetheir identity.

distinctand easily differentiated from other pipits by their pale grayish upperpartswith faint and indistinct broad blackish streaks(and no pale streaks)on the crown and the back; un- Distribution streakedhindneck, rump and uppertail coverts;dark pinkish The Water Pipit, Anthus spinoletta, is found throughout buff eyebrowand underparts,with a necklaceof black streaks North America and is our most commonand bestknown pipit. acrossthe breast and a few black streakson the flanks; It breeds in the Palearctic region of Eurasia and in northern somewhatlonger tail; brownto blacklegs (all otherpipits have North America (Vaurie, 1959). In North America, it breeds pale legs). Of the other pipits, the one that most resemblesthe across the arctic region from Alaska to Greenland, and on breedingWater Pipit is the OliveTree-Pipit. The WaterPipit mountain tops in Maine, British Columbia, Washington,Ore- has grayer upperparts;darker and more uniform buffy gon, Utah, Colorado, northern Arizona and north central eyebrowand underparts;hindclaw that is slightlylonger than New Mexico (American Ornithologists' Union, 1957). North hindtoe;different call; and rarely perchesin trees. American Water Pipits winter on the Pacific Coast from Brit- ish Columbia south and from the southern United States south The breedingplumage of the Water Pipit is acquiredin late to Guatemala. While the American Ornithologists' Union winterand earlyspring. The amountof blackstreaking on the (1957) splitsthe North American Water Pipits into three sub- breast and flanks ranges from moderate to almost none species,A.s. pacificus, A. s. rubescens,and A. s. alticola, I However, even the moderately streaked birds have con- follow Vaurie (1959) in treating them as one race, A. s. rubes- spicuouslyless streaking on their underpartsthan the other cens, for the purposesof this paper. pipits consideredhere, exceptSprague's and breedingRed- throated.The buff of the centerof bellyand undertail coverts Plumagesand Identification is paler than that of the breast, and some individualshave a paler buff to whitishthroat. The narrowblackish gray malar Breeding-plumagedWater Pipits (A. s. rubescens)are quite stripefrom the lower mandiblecan be complete,broken or

778 AmericanBirds, September 1981 missing.The buffy band along the lower edgeof the brownish- The Sprague'sP•plt, Anthus spragueu, breedson the northern gray ear coverts is often not clearly defined. The buffy Great Plains from northern Alberta to central Manitoba, eyebrow is broad and conspicuous,especially in front of the south to Montana, North Dakota and northeastern Minneso- eye. The color of the upperpartsranges from brownish gray to ta. It migrates through the Great Plains and winters from gray-brown and that of the two pale wing bars from dusky southern Arizona to northwestern Mississippi and south •n white or buffy to grayish buff or brownish buff. The tail is Mexico to Michoacan, Puebla and Veracruz (American Orm- black with grayish edging on the feathers, the outermost pair thologists' Union, 1957). Vagrants both east and west of the mostly white, the penultimatepair with a short to long narrow Great Plains have been noted during migration, e.g., fall rec- triangle of white on the tip of the inner web, and the next pair ords in California (Dunn, 1976). often with a smallwhite spot at the tip. The wing lining and ax- illaries are dusky buff, and the underside of primaries and Plumagesand Identification secondariesdark dusky. The Sprague's Pipit can readily be differentiated from other The non-breedingplumage of the Water Pipit is acquired in pipits by pale, rather plain bully looking sidesof head; black late summer. It differs from that of other pipits by its dark streakson underpartsconfined to a necklaceof narrow dark gray-brown to dark brown upperparts, without pale streaks, streaksacross breast, with no streakson flanks;paler upper- and the broad blackish streaksfaint, indistinctand limited to parts, especiallyhindneck, with bold dark streakingthrough- the crown and back; uniform, pale buff to bright buff under- out; furtive habits; call. parts, with moderateto heavy black streakingon the breast and flanks; dark legs. Occasionally birds have two-to-four The dark brown eye contrasts conspicuouslywith the pale inconspicuouspaler streaks on back. The eyebrow is buffy. bully eye-ringand lores and generallypale sidesof head. The The color and pattern of the wing bars and tail are as in pale buffy eyebrow is indistinct. The ear coverts are rather breedingplumage. The upper tail covertsare a slightlywarmer plain brownish buff to bully brown, usually with a rufescent brown than the rest of the upperparts. The buffy malar stripe tinge. The sidesand rear of the neck are buff with narrow dark outlining the lower border of the ear covertsand the blackish streaks, and the crown brownish buff with sharply deftned malar line are usuallywell-defined. On the folded wing in fresh black streaks. The back and scapularsare warm sandy brown , the longesttertiary reachesor nearly reachesthe tip or bully brown (often with a slight rufescent tinge), w•th of the longestprimary. Featherwear on the terriariesis heavy, broad black streaks, broad bully to brownish buff streakson however,and a badly worn longesttertiary may fall as much as the upper back, and a paler and more prominent buffy stripe 16mm. (0.6 inch) short of the primary tip. down each side of the back. Narrow buffy brown to brownish The first fall bird is like the non-breedingadult but the up- buff feather edgesgive the back and scapularsa faint scalyap- perpartsare browner, and often tingedchocolate; the eyebrow pearance at close range (especiallywhen the bird is freshly and underpartsare a darker, deeperpinkish buff,' often has molted). The wings are blackish brown with whitish to buffy pale legs. brown feather edging and two whitish to buffy wing bars. The

Other race rump and upper tail coverts, which look a little paler than the back, are warm sandy brown with narrow black streaks. The outermosttwo pairs of tail feathersare almost entirely white, Another race of the Water Pipit, A. s. japonicus, has occurred the blackish brown confined to a band on the outer border of in fall on the islandsof the BeringSea (Vaurie, 1959;Dan Gib- the inner web, giving the tail more conspicuouswhite outer son, in littO and might reachthere in spring.It breedsin south- edgesthan some other pipits. The rest of the tail is blackish eastern Siberia, Sakhalin, the Kuriles, and Kamchatka brown with whitish to buffy brown edgingon the feathers. The (Vaurie, 1959). In breeding plumage,japonicus differs from throat and malar area are pale buff to buffy white with a fine rubescensin having slightly darker and somewhatbrowner up- blackish malar stripe from the base of the mandible. The perparts, and pale brown legs. Non-breeding adults are like breast is bright dark buff with a necklace of narrow black non-breedingrubescens, but the upperparts are a darker, more streaks,the belly and under tail covertsbuff to buffy white, chocolate brown, and the legs are pale brown. the flanks brownish buff to buffy brown, without streaks (someindividuals have a few fine dark brown streakson lower Habits, vocalizations flanks, but theseare inconspicuous).The wing lining and ax- illaries are white, grading to dusky tips of outer primaries. The The Water Pipit is strictly terrestrial, only rarely perchingon tip of the longesttertiary falls short of the tip of the longest bushesor treesand normally feedingin open areason tundra, primary on the folded wing by an average of about 10 mm fields, plains, muddy shores,etc. It nestson tundra. It pumps (0.4 inch) but the gap ranges from 0-16 mm. The maxilla is its tail down and up frequently.The flight call is a thin, sharp blackish brown, while the mandible and legs are bright flesh peet or pit or chip or pi-pit or chip-it or pi-pi-pi-pit. Its song, color or pale pinkish, (brighter and more pink than in Plate 1) usually delivered while fluttering down to the ground from high in the air, is a clear or reedy musicalnote chee or tcheeor Body molts occur in late summer and late winter. Newly double note chaweeor cheedlerapidly repeatedover and over molted birds are the palest, brightest and buffiest. Heavily at varying speeds. abraded birds in summer and winter have darker upperparts and paler, duller buff underparts. Then the crown is blackish, SPRAGUE'S PIPIT with narrow buffy to brownish buff streaks, and looks like a blackish cap. The darker crown and back contrasting against Distribution the paler, buffy neck can give a "collared" appearance

Volume 35, Number 5 779 Juvenal birds are like the adult but the scapularsand middle back, pale legs; call. Its bold black streaks on breast and and lower back are black with fine white scales(feather edges) flanks, darker upperparts, and call separate the non-breeding and narrow buffy streaks.As the featherswear duringthe fall, Red-throatedPipit from the Sprague'sPipit. the scalesbecome less conspicuous and the birds cometo look more like adults. All the Sprague'sPipits in the plates are in Non-breedingRed-throated Pipits have warm dark brown up- fairly fresh plumage. Wear and bleachingcause the buffy perpartswith conspicuous,distinct black streaks,broad on the stripeson the head,neck and backto becomenarrower, duller back and narrow on the crown, nape, rump and upper tail and more whitish. coverts. There are two buffy to buffy brown streaks runnmg down each side of the back, the outer one shorter, darker and Habits, vocalizations less distinct, forming two broken "V" marks. These pale streaksrange to buffy white in abraded plumage. There are The Sprague'sPipit is very furtive, creepinglike a mousein two whitish to buffy wing bars, the upper one on the median densegrass or other shortvegetation. It is difficult to observe wing coverts broader and more conspicuousas it contrasts as it rarely feedsin the openand makesmaximum use of what- with the exposedblack featherbases. The ear covertsand the ever cover is available, standingbehind plants and craning its sidesof the neckare ratherplain brown, with somefaint black neck to see the intruder. While this speciesusually travels in streaks, and only a few faint paler streaks especiallyjust small flocks, it is rather solitary, and a flock spreads out behind the eye. A buffy malar stripeis sharplydefined against broadlyin a field, makingit unusualto flushmore than one or the lower border of the ear coverts and the narrow black malar two at a time. After beingflushed, its flight is undulating,with line that runs from the base of the bill into a patch of heavy great swoops,each swoop carrying it higher. When alighting, black streakson the lower sidesof the neck. The eyebrowIs It drops abruptly and steeplyto near the ground in a larger buff. The underpartsare fairly uniform warm or bright buff In swoop,and makesanother smaller swoop or two beforedrop- fresh plumage, rangingto pale buff in abradedplumage, with ping steeplyinto the vegetation.Its preferredhabitat is short heavy black streakingon the breast and flanks. The throat Is grassprairie. It apparentlydoes not pump its tail. Its flight call occasionallybuffy white. The tail is blackishbrown with buffy is a distinctiveloud reedytweep or tsweep,with a forced or ex- to dark brown feather edging, the outermost pair of feathers plosivequality, often rapidly repeated. This call is louder and mostly white, buffy white or dusky white, with the narrow has a harder quality to it than the calls of the tree-pipits.Its outer web pale buffy brown, and the penultimatepair with a loud song is deliveredfrom high in the air, as high as 75 m. small whitish triangle at the tip of the inner web. The legsare (250 ft.) abovethe ground,and is usuallyrepeated many times. yellowish brown to pinkish, the bill blackish brown with yel- The songis introducedby a few reedy twittering tze notes,run- lowish brown to yellowish flesh base of mandible. The hind- rang into a reedy musical descendingseries of notes, starting claw is slightlyto noticeablylonger than the hindtoe. In fresh with tzee or twee and running into a double note tzee-a or plumage, the longest tertiary normally reaches or nearly twee-a,the secondnote lower, and a final twee-yot•the final reaches the tip of the longest primary on the folded wing. yod lowestin pitch and heavilyaccented: tze-tze-tze-tze-tzee- However on worn plumage the longest tertiary can fall as tzee-tzee-tzee-tzee-tzee-a-tzee-a-twee-yod much as 11 mm. short of the wing tip.

RED-THROATED PIPIT Many malesand somefemales in non-breedingplumage have bright pinkish rufous throat, malar area, lores and eyebrow, Distribution and a pinkish rufous tinge on the front part of the ear coverts, and occasionallya pinkish rufous tinge on the breast, as in The Red-throatedPipit, Antbus cervinus,breeds across nor- breedingplumage. However, springbirds are rarely as heavily thern Eurasia from northern Scandinavia to the coasts of the streaked on the breast and flanks. In some individuals, the BenngSea. It wintersin the northernhalf of Africa and south- bright pinkish rufous is limited to either the entire throat or ern Asia to the Philippinesand Indonesia(Vaurie, 1959). In just a trace on the throat. North America it is an uncommon to fairly common local breederin the BeringStraits area of Alaska, a rare springmi- In breedingplumage, the Red-throatedPipit is easilydifferen- grant (but seeGibson, 1979) and very rare fall migrant in the tiated from all the other speciesdealt with here by the bright westernAleutians, and a casualspring migrant on the Pribilof pinkish rufous throat, malar area and eyebrow which contrast Islands. There are, in addition, singlerecords for Point Bar- with the buffy belly. Males and some femaleshave the bright row and mainland Alaska south of the Seward Peninsula pinkish rufous extendingonto the upper breast and many in- (Kesseland Gibson, 1978).This speciesis alsofound occasion- dividuals have a bright pinkish rufous tinge to the forehead, ally in the fall alongthe Pacific Coast: Washington(Mattocks cheeks, ear coverts and sides of neck. Black streaking on and Hunn, 1980); northern California (Winter and Laymon, breast and flanks ranges from nearly none in the male to 1979); southern California (Small, 1974); and once at the moderately extensivein the female. There is no black malar southernend of Baja California (American Ornithologists' stripe and there are no black streaks on the side of the neck Union, 1957). The ground color of the upperpartsranges from warm dark brown (in fresh plumage)to gray-brown(in worn plumage), Plumages and Identification the latter giving the upperpartsa "sandy" appearance. l'he non-breedingRed-throated Pipit is readily distinguished Breedingplumage is acquiredfrom late winter to early spnng from the non-breedingWater Pipit by its paler brown upper- and non-breedingplumage acquired in late summer.Occasion- parts, with bold, sharply defined black streakingfrom crown al birds in non-breedingplumage are seenin the spring,sug- to upper tail coverts,and four paler buffy streaksdown the gestingcaution when trying to identify similar speciessuch as

780 American Birds, September1981 Olive Tree-Pipit Olive Tree-Pipit Brown Tree-Pipit (abraded) (fresh) (abraded)

•t ---'- PechoraPipit

• __ __I• BrownTree-Pipit •. "• (fresh) Red-throated MeadowPipit Pipit __ (fresh) -• • •

Pechora(January)Pipit •. • Pechora(Aprii)Pip•! '•

Meadow Pipit (abraded) _•. • ,,•,.•..•.•,,,.

Red-throatedPipit_-'•'• • \\ •--••" (non-breeding) - Red-throated Pipit

(9 non-breeding) (o' breeding)

Water Pipit (non-breeding) Water(breeding)Pipit

PLATE 1 the Pechora P•p•t and Brown Tree-Plplt First fall birds are breeding Red-throated Pipits that lack pinkish rufous on the like the non-breedingadult but have a slight rufescenttinge to throat, have rather uniform light to bright buff underparts the upperparts,brownish buff wing bars, richer buff under- Caution is necessaryas the fresh-plumagedPechora often has parts,and no traceof pinkishrufous in the plumage. a buffy to yellowish tinge to the lower throat, malar area and belly, although this doesnot diminish the contrast. The under- Habits, vocalizations parts of the are'white to buffy white or creamy white, sometimeswith a faint yellowishtinge in fresh plumage, The Red-throatedPipit occasionallypumps its tail down and with rich buff to yellowish buff breast in fresh plumage, be- up. It can readily be observedas it normally frequentsopen coming dull buff in abraded plumage. The under tail coverts areas and is not particularlyshy. In Alaska, it is most often are whitish to buffy. The breastand flanks are heavily streaked found in very short tundra vegetationand usuallydoes not with black. On the folded wing, the longest tertiary normally make much use of the available cover. On its wintering falls about 10 min. (range 7-13 min.) short of the wing tip. This groundsin southernAsia, it prefersdamp grassyareas, espe- will distinguishit from many Red-throatedPipits, but caution ciallynear marshes and in river valleys.Its flight call is a dis- must be used because worn Red-throateds often have short- tinctlve, thin high-pitchedseee, seeep, or see-eep,with little or ened tertiaries. no reedyquality. Its songis "built up of threemain typesof component,twee (repeatedabout four times, shrill and pro- Other differences between the Pechora Pipit and the non- longed,a little like closingnotes of [Brown]Tree-Pipit, but breedingRed-throated Pipit tend to createa different "look", not so musicaland higher pitched, trrrrrrrrr (little bubbling but theseare gradations rather than clearly defined characters trill), twizz-wizz-wizz-wizz(more sibilant, usually repeated se- The bill of the Pechora is somewhat longer and heavier. In veral times), thus twee-twee-twee-twee,trrrrrrrrr, twizz-wizz- fresh plumage, the Pechora often has a strong yellowish tinge wtzz-wizz,twizz-wizz-wizz-wizz, twizz-wizz-wizz-wizz. [A] sin- to the sides of the head and neck, malar area, lower throat, gle suchsequence may form completesong from postor bush, breast, flanks and sometimesbelly, which gives it a warmer, but in song-flight--itis prolonged,with variations."(Wither- brighter look than the Red-throated. The sidesof the head and by et al., 1949). neck are somewhat paler buffy brown with more buffy mark- ings, the ear coverts less sharply defined on their upper and PECHORA PIPIT lower borders and the dark brown eye contrasting more with its paler surroundings. The narrow black malar line is often Distribution broken and sometimesentirely lacking. The crown and nape are somewhatpaler and brighter buffy brown, often with a The Pechora Pipit, Artthus gustavi, breeds in the northern rufescenttinge, the black streaks more sharply defined and U S S.R. from the Pechora Region (just west of the Ural somewhatbroader. The ground color of the crown and nape is Mountains) to easternSiberia and the CommanderIslands. It usually paler than that of the back (the ground color of these wintersin Indonesia(Vaurie, 1959). There are four recordsfor areas tends to be the same shade on the Red-throated). The North America, all in Alaska, three from St. Lawrence Island warm dark brown ground color of its back, rump and upper in the northern Bering Sea, and one from Attu, the western- tail coverts often has a rufescent tinge, giving it a richer or most of the Aleutian Islands(King, 1980). Becauseof its fur- warmer appearance, and the black stripes tend to be more tivenessand its closeresemblance to other pipits, this is an un- sharply defined. With its bright plumagetones, the Attu bird usually difficult Asian stray to record, and it may well occur (King, 1980) reminded North American observersof a Savan- more often than these few records indicate. nah Sparrow. The pale wing bars tend to be whiter (white to buffy white) and somewhat more sharply defined. The white Plumages and Identification of the outer tail feathershas a buffy or duskytinge, sometimes strongerthan on Red-throateds,but this appearsto be of little In all plumages,the PechoraPipit resemblesthe non-breeding valueas a point of distinctionas thereis overlapin the "white- Red-throatedPipit. Perhapsthe best field marks for separat- ness" of the outer tail feathers of Pechora and Red-throated, ing it from the Red-throatedare the call notesand the promi- and in any case, it is almost impossibleto get a clear view of nent, long white to buffy white (rarely buff) stripe running the outer tail feathers in the field. down eachside of the back, forming a broken "V". The whit- ish stripeis borderedon both sidesby a broad black stripe, the Will Russell noted a round black spot on the side of the neck contrastenhancing its visibility. This single whitishstripe of near the juncture of throat and breaston the PechoraPipit ob- the PechoraPipit is normallymore conspicuousthan the dou- servedon St. LawrenceIsland in 1975(King, 1980).This mark ble buffy stripeof the Red-throatedPipit in a similarstate of was conspicuouswhen it cranedits neck to look at the obser- plumagewear. However, the distinctioncan be a subtle one vers. A photograph of a Pechora Pipit trapped in September, due to variation in both speciesand may be confusing to an 1976at Fair Isle, United Kingdom, showsthis mark (Fair Isle observer lacking field experiencewith one or both species. Bird ObservatoryTrust, 1977). Both Pechora and non-breed- Close study of specimensshows that the freshly molted Pech- ing Red-throated, have heavyblack streakingin this area, con- ora Pipit may have a secondwhitish stripe on the side of the necting with the black streaks on the breast and continuing back, which is outside the main one, and shorter and lesscon- forward to form the thin black malar line. However, on the spicuous.This should be 'looked for in the field. Pechora, this patch of broad black streaks is much smaller (1/8-1/4 inch or 3-6 mm. as comparedto 3/8-1/2 inch or 9-13 Another importantplumage character distinguishing the Pech- mm. in diameter), and when the feathersare in the right posi- ora from the non-breedingRed-throated is its whitishthroat tion, a round black spot is formed. The lack of a black malar and belly which contrast a little with its buffy breast. Non- line on many Pechorastends to isolate this black spot. Fur-

782 American Birds, September1981 ,' il /

Water Pipi! Water Pipit Ohve Tree-Pipit Olive Tree-Pipit Brown Tree-Pip•t (breeding) (non-breeding) (fresh) (abraded) (fresh)

, 1

Sprague's Sprague's Red-throated Pipit Pechora Pipit Pipit Pipit (non-breeding) (fresh) (fresh) (adult) (juvenal)

PIE7 ER PRELL

PLATE 2 ther, the patch of black streakson a Red-throatedis unhkely The Ohve Tree-Plplt, Anthus hodgsonl, breeds from the to look like a round black spotbecause it is more triangularin Pechora Region of the U.S.S.R. east to Kamchatka and south shape.This patchof black streaksis morelikely to look like a to the westernHimalayas, west China and Japan. It wintersin black patch in both specieson abradedbirds when the pale southernAsia from India to Indochina and the Philippines edgesof the feathersare worn away. Somecareful field obser- (Vaurie, 1959). It is a casual spring migrant in the western vation is needed to determine the usefulness of this mark in Aleutians and at St. Lawrence Island (Kesseland Gibson, field identification. 1978), and was collectedonce near Reno, Nevada(Burleigh, 1968). The descriptionof the PechoraPipit is completedwith the following.The eyebrowis buffy. The blackstreaks on the up- Plumagesand Identification perpans are broad and bold on the back, narrower on the crown and nape and narrowestand least conspicuouson the The Olive Tree-Pipit is distinguishedfrom all other pipits by rump and upper tail coverts.The whitishwing bars differ in rather uniform, dark olive-green upperparts, without pale width, the one on the median covertsbeing broad and conspic- streaks; narrow black streaks which are distinct on the crown, uous, the lower one on the greater coverts being narrow and extremelyfaint or lacking on the rear and sidesof the neck lessconspicuous. The tail is blackishbrown with buffy to dark distinct but faint on the back (less conspicuousthan on the brown feather edging, the outermostpair of feathers mostly crown), and entirely absent from the rump and upper tall buffy white to dusky white with the narrow outer web pale coverts. The face pattern is diagnostic:a yellowish buff patch buffy brown near the tip, the penultimatepair of featherswith on the upper part of the lores, which runs into a short, very a short to long (half feather length) buffy white to duskywhite conspicuous,creamy white eyebrow, which is accentuatedby a triangleat tip of inner web. The long-lookinglegs are pinkish. narrow black line above and a dark eyeline below it; a small, The hindclaw is slightly longer than the hindtoe. but conspicuousbully white patch (often missing)on the up- per rear part of the ear coverts,just below and behindthe rear The adult PechoraPipit molts its body plumagein late winter end of the eyebrow,which at a distanceappears as a drooping and early springand, presumably,in late summer.Apparently extensionof the eyebrow itself; a small black patch (rarely the plumagesof the breeding, non-breedingand first fall missing--below the buffy white one) connectedto a narrow PechoraPipit are much the same,with featherwear beingthe black line (sometimesmissing) that runs forward along the main causeof the plumagevariation mentionedabove. This lower edge of the ear covertsto a point beneaththe eye; rather variation can increaseits similarity to the non-breedingRed- plain dark olive-brown ear coverts, which have a variable throated and cause confusion. However, the Pechora can nor- amount of buffy streaking on their front end, and are bor- mally be distinguishedif great care is taken. deredbelow by a buffy malar stripethat curlsaround their rear edge. While difficult to see, the hindclaw, which is slightly Habits, vocalizations shorter than the hindtoe, distinguishesthis speciesfrom all other pipits exceptthe Brown Tree-Pipit. For the original de- The PechoraPipit occasionallypumps its tail down and up. It scriptionof the face pattern, with a field sketchand a photo- is a very secretivespecies, making extensiveuse of any coverin graph, see Kitson (1979). For some field observationsof the its way to avoid observation,and flying when approachedtoo face pattern, seeFairbank (1980). closely. Good views of the Pechora Pipit on the ground are normally obtained only by very careful stalking. In the breed- The plumage description of the Olive Tree-Pipit is completed lng seasonthe PechoraPipit is found in "wet sedgeand reed- as follows. The throat, breastand flanks are bright buff to yel- grassmeadows" and marshes,and "somewhat elevatedtun- lowish buff, with a narrow black malar line down each side of dra, not flooded at high water period and denselyovergrown the throat and heavy black streaking on the breastand flanks, with shrubs" (Dement'ev et al., 1954). On migration in Korea, the belly white to buffy white, and the under tail covertsbuffy I found it in "rice, bean, and wet grassand weed fields" (Fen- white to bright buff. The two wing bars are whitish to buffy. nell and King, 1964). In Alaska, it has been found on tundra, The tail is blackishbrown with olive to olive-grayfeather edg- amidstthe debrisof a partially excavatedmidden, and feeding ing, the outer pair of feathers mostly buffy white to dusky inside piles of twisted rusty metal matting used for surfacing white with the narrow outer web pale buffy olive-brown, and airstrips(King, 1980). I frequently heard the call of the Pech- the penultimatepair with a whitishtriangle at the tip of the in- ora •n Korea in 1961 and 1962. It is a distinctive, "hard, pwit ner web. On the folded wing, in freshplumage, the longestter- or pit" (King and Dickinson, 1975)which alwaysdistinguishes tiary normally nearly reachesthe wing tip, but in worn plu- it from the Red-throated.The songis "a high-pitchedseries of mage it can fall short by as much as 12 mm. The bill is black- wheezynotes similar in quality to thoseof an " (Fennell ish, the mandible basally flesh-colored, and the legs flesh- and King, 1964), usually uttered in hovering flight as high as colored. 40-60 meters(150-200 ft). Unfortunatelythe birds observedin Alaska called only rarely and softly and did not sing at all. Adult Olive Tree-Pipits molt their body plumagein late sum- With its extreme furtiveness and relative silence, the Pechora mer and late winter. Freshly molted adults and first fall birds Pipit is mostunpipit-like, especially to thosefamiliar only with have the brightestolive upperpartsand the brightestbuff un- the Water Pipit. derparts. Adults in summer, having the most abraded and dull-coloredplumage, have a stronggray to brownishtinge to the upperparts, giving an overall olive-gray to olive-brown OLIVE TREE-PIPIT look, although the wing coverts,rump, upper tail covertsand tall generally retain more of the olive-greentone. In addition, Distribution the buff of the underparts,malar area and forepart of the

784 American B•rds, September1981 eyebrow asmuch paler, rangangto butfy white, and the con- BROWN TREE-PIPIT trasting pattern on the sidesof the head is faded and duller. The first fall bird is like the freshly molted adult but has a Distribution bronzy tinge to the upperpartsand heavierblack streakingon the back. The Brown Tree-Pipit, Anthus trivialis, breedsfrom Europe east to Lake Baikal in south central Siberia, and the western Habits, vocalizations Himalayas. It winters from tropical Africa and the Mediterra- nean regionto India (Vaurie, 1959). There is one unpublished One of the most distinctive characteristics of the Olive Tree- record for the Seward Peninsula of Alaska in June. Because Pipit is that it constantlypumps its tail down and up, especial- this species does not breed in the far eastern areas of the ly when perchedin a tree or bush. When flushed, it normally U.S.S.R., it must be regardedas strictly accidentalin North alightsin trees,or wherethere are none, it will onto a bush America. (or boards or oil drums at Attu in May 1979) or back to the ground. In its winteringgrounds in southernAsia, it inhabits Plumages and Identification open wooded areas and forest edge. It feeds often in open fields, but normally near trees or tall bushesto which it The Brown Tree-Pipit is similar to the Olive Tree-Pipit but when disturbed. On its breedinggrounds it occursin forests, may with care be distinguishedby somewhatpaler, brown up- forest edge and thickets, as well as alpine situations perparts,with only a faint olive tinge; broader, more clearly (Dement'ev et al.). The call is a tseepsimilar to the call of the defined and more conspicuousblack streaks from crown to Red-throated Pipit, but it is a little louder and has a distinctive back; distinct black streakson the back of the neck, and often reedy quality. The song (which I recorded in Hokkaido, Ja- the sidesof the neck as well; plainer, somewhatpaler, lesscon- pan) is loud and musical with both clear and reedy notes, trastingsides of head;narrower, lessconspicuous buffy eye- reminiscent of certain sparrow or bunting songs. It was deli- brow, which is the samecolor throughout,lacking the yellow- vered from a perch high in a tree and consistsof variable ish buff above the lores; somewhatpaler brown ear coverts, phrasesof 6-12 notes, with 5-10 secondspause between phras- with less sharply defined upper and lower borders, lack of es. A typical phrase is witititu-tee-dash-eeyu,the first four white and black patcheson rear end, and lack of the black line notes run together almost as a trill, the fourth note lower, the on lower border; somewhat narrower and less bold black fifth note higher and the final double note inflected down- streakson the breastand flanks; lessfrequent tail pumping, ward. slightlylonger looking tail.

Choosingan Englishname for the Olive Tree-Pipit was com- While a Brown Tree-Pipit in freshlymolted plumage is not dif- plicated becauseof the numerous names available in the liter- ficult to differentiatefrom the Olive Tree-Pipit, the identifica- ature, the most important being: Olive Tree-Pipit, Indian tion of abraded summer adults can be troublesome since Tree-Pipit and Olive-backed Pipit. Sincethe conspicuouslyex- feather wear in the Olive Tree-Pipit dulls the characteristic tensive (and roughly equal) utilization of trees by Anthus greentone of its upperpartsleaving them looking browner and hodgsoniand Anthus trivialis is highly unusualfor pipits, it is grayer, while the underpartsare paler buff, the face pattern appropriate, if not essential,that they both be called "tree- faded, and there remains little contrast between the fore and pipits." Their claim to the distinctivegroup name "tree-pipit" the rear part of the eyebrow. Feather wear on Brown Tree- is enhancedby their short hindclaws, an adaptation to arbor- Pipits causestheir upperparts to look somewhat darker and eal living, also unusual in pipits. The major books on Asian sometimesmore olive in tone, and the buff of their underparts birds call A. hodgsoni a tree-pipit, albeit with different and eyebrowto fade to pale buff. Thus the two tree-pipitstend modifiers. The major Eurasian bird books also call A. trivialis to look more alike when their plumage is badly worn. Adult a "tree-pipit". Thus the English name "tree-pipit" is firmly Brown Tree-Pipits molt their body plumage in late summer establishedfor both speciesand "tree-pipit" becomesa group and later winter. Freshlymolted birdshave the brightestbuff name requiring a distinctivemodifier for each species.I coined underparts and eyebrow. the names "Olive Tree-Pipit" for A. hodgsoni, first used in "A Field Guide to the Birds of South-EastAsia" (King and Dickinson, 1975) and "Brown Tree-Pipit" for Anthus trivialis The Brown Tree-Pipit can be differentiatedfrom Pechoraand for use in my forthcoming book on the birds of the Indian non-breedingRed-throated pipits by the lack of or faint pale Region, because these names indicate the birds' arboreal stripeson the back (thesepale stripescan be fairly conspicuous habits as well as one of the most important means of distin- in worn summer plumage); unstreakedrump and upper tall guishingthe two species,namely the olive and brown shadesof coverts; a hindclaw that is slightly shorter than the hindtoe, their upperparts.The name "Indian " for A. hodg- and more strongly curved; different call. Its bill is somewhat soni gained currencythrough Vaurie (1959) but is not used in stouter that than of the Red-throated Pipit. Most individuals India (wherethey use Hodgson'sTree Pipit; Ripley, 1961) and have some dark feather centers on the rump and upper tail is inappropriate becauseits breeding there is confined to the coverts which show as faint dark marks, but not distinct extremenorthern part of only one state, Uttar Pradesh, high in streaks.Occasional individuals have one (or rarely two) more the Himalayas. The name "Olive-backed Pipit" was proposed conspicuousbuffy streakson each side of the back, but these for A. hodgsoniin about 1966 for use in Great Britain where are rarely as pale or as striking as those of the Red-throated the bird is accidental.While this name doespoint out the olive Pipit. back color and obviate the necessityfor a modifier for the Englishname of A. trivialis, it is inappropriatebecause it fails The Brown Tree-Pipit has a clear, distinct,pale to bright buffy to call attention to the bird's arboreal habits. malar stripe, without any black markings, betweenthe ear co-

Volume35, Number5 785 786 AmericanB•rds, September 1981 verts and the narrow black malar hne. Its throat, breast, open,grassy ; rare use of trees,usually returning to the flanks, and often under tail coverts are bright yellowish buff, groundafter beingflushed. On the breedinggrounds, identifi- which contrastswith the white of the belly, except on some cationis madeeasier by the differencesin the habitat,song heavily abraded birds in which the buff is badly faded. The and song-flight. belly often has a buffy tinge. There are two whitish to buffy wing bars. The tail resemblesthat of the Olive Tree-Pipit but The other ways of differentiating the Meadow Pipit from the the feather edging is buffy brown to dark brown or olive- Brown Tree-Pipit must be consideredmerely suggestiveor sup- brown, and the narrow outer webs of the outermost pair of portive, rather than definitive, becausethe plumagesof these feathers are buffy brown. On the folded wing in fresh two speciesare so similar that it is difficult to see the dif- plumage,the longesttertiary falls on or just shortof the wing ferences, and variation produces overlap in appearance. The tip. In worn plumage the longesttertiary can fall short of the Meadow Pipit differs from the Brown Tree-Pipit by somewhat longestprimary by 13 mm. The bill is blackish brown, except lesserect, more "hunched," carriage; somewhatshorter, less for the flesh-coloredbase of the mandible, and the legs are elongated look; slightly smaller size, giving a somewhat brownish flesh. "lighter" appearance, and less"confident" progressin flight; slightly thinner bill; somewhat darker, more olive-brown Brown Tree-Pipits in the first fall plumage, which is acquired upperparts, with somewhat bolder, more distinct black streaks •n late summer, resembleadults but have a warmer, somewhat on crown, hindneck and back, which extend onto upper rump, paler, buffy tinge to the upperparts;bright warm buffy wing less distinct and less clean-cut buffy malar stripe, with some bars; bright warm buffy eyebrow, malar area and underparts, small blackish markings and less regular borders; usually with the center of the belly a pale buff to buffy white. The ju- paler, duller buffy throat and breast; stronger buffy tinge on venal plumage is similar to the first fall plumage but has a belly; lesscontrast between buffy breastand buffy white belly; strongrufescent tinge on the upperpartswhich sometimescar- slightlynarrower, but somewhatmore numerousblack streaks ries into the first fall plumage as a faint tinge. on the breastand flanks; pale brown to dark fleshylegs, which are lesspink in tone than in the Brown Tree-Pipit. Much cau- Habits, vocalizations tion is required when trying to separate the Meadow P•p•t from the Brown Tree-Pipit by plumagecharacters alone as in- The habits of the Brown Tree-Pipit are similar to thoseof the dividual and seasonalvariation in both speciesoften bringsthe Ohve Tree-Pipit, but it pumpsits tail much lessfrequently and color of their upperparts dose to one another and there •s Is perhapsslightly lessdependent on trees. The flight call is a broad overlapin the intensityof the buff of the underpartsand penetrating hoarse teeze, similar to that of the Olive Tree- the size and extent of the black streaks on the upperparts, Pipit. The songis a "singlephrase consisting of usuallysome breast and flanks. 2-4 different notesor simplecomponents each repeated several t•mes, leading up to shrill, musical, canary-like The Meadow Pipit has two buffy wing bars; buffy white to seea-seea-seea... with which song finishes, and which is bright buff throat, breast, flanks, and under tail coverts,with sometimespreceded by little bubbling trill . . . In song flight heavy black streakingon breastand flanks; buffy white belly male flutters steeply upwards from elevated perch on tree, The tail of the Meadow Pipit is like those of the Brown Tree- beginssinging near peak of ascentand continuesas it floats Pipit and the Olive Tree-Pipit, but the feather edgingaverages down, with wingsinclined upwardsand tail spread,to sameor slightly more olive in tint than in the Brown Tree-Pipit and adjacentperch again, or sometimesto ground... frequently slightlybrowner than on the Olive Tree-Pipit. Adult Meadow deliverswhole or curtailed version while perched, exceptional- Pipits molt their body plumagein late summerand late w•nter ly even on ground." (Witherby et al., 1949). and the breeding and non-breedingplumages are much the same. Fresh-plumagedbirds often have the throat, breast and MEADOW PIPIT flanks bright buff, some nearly as bright as fresh-plumaged Brown Tree-Pipits. Abraded summer Meadow Pipits have The Meadow Pipit, Anthus pratensis, breeds in southeastern somewhatdarker upperpartsand buffy white underparts. Greenlandand Iceland, as well as Europe. In winter, it mi- grates as far south as North Africa and the Near East, and as The first fall plumage of the Meadow Pipit is acquiredin late far west as Turkestan, northern Pakistan and Kashmir summer and is like that of the adult but the upperparts are (Vaurie, 1959;Ripley, 1961).Since it hasoccurred accidentally warmer, slightlypaler brown, occasionallywith a faint rufes- as near as western Greenland (American Ornithologists' Un- cent tinge, and the black streaks are somewhat broader; the ran, 1957),it seemsa likely candidatefor vagrancyelsewhere in wing bars are brownish buff; the underparts are a warmer, eastern North America. brighter buff. This plumage is closer to the Brown Tree-Pipit and much caution must be usedin making the identification. Plumagesand Identification The juvenal plumage of the Meadow Pipit is like the first fall plumage but has a slight rufescenttinge on the upperparts and The Meadow Pipit is much like the Brown Tree-Pipit, and is a pale yellow tinge on the underparts. extremelydifficult or impossibleto differentiateon plumage charactersalone. This is especiallytrue in the autumn when the The Meadow Pipit is distinguishedfrom the Olive Tree-P•pit first fall Meadow Pipits look even more like Brown Tree- by browner and somewhat paler upperparts, with distinct, P•pits. The flight call is the bestand easiestway to separate conspicuousblack streaksfrom crown to upper rump, includ- them in any plumage.Other helpfulfield marksfor separating ing hindneck;plainer, lesscontrasty sides of head; inconspicu- the Meadow Pipit from the Brown Tree-Pipit are: hindclaw ous buffy eyebrow, without bright buff area on upper part of that is longerthan the hindtoe and lessstrongly curved; more lores;plainer ear coverts, without the white and the black pat-

Volume 35, Number 5 787 ches;less dear and lessdistinct buffy malar stripe;paler buff Water Pipits by more ohve, more contrastangupperparts with on underparts;less tail pumping;long hindclaw. conspicuous,distinct black streaksfrom crown to upper rump; lessconspicuous buffy eyebrow;paler buffy underparts,wath The Meadow Pipit can be differentiated from the Pechoraand moredistinct black streakson breastand flanks;pale legs;call. non-breedingRed-throated Pipits by the lack of or faint pale The Meadow Pipit is readily differentiatedfrom the Sprague's strapeson the back (althoughthese pale stripescan be fairly Pipit by darker, lesscontrasting upperparts, without conspicu- conspicuousin worn summerplumage); stronger olive tinge to ous pale streaks;heavy black streakingon breastand flanks. upperparts, including wings; somewhat narrower and less clearlydefined black streakson upperpartsand underparts,es- Habits, vocalizations peruallyon the back and flanks; the lack of or faint black streaks on lower rump and upper tail coverts; voice. The The Meadow Pipit is an open countrybird, inhabitinggrassy Meadow Pipit's bill is somewhat smaller than that of the areas,marshy areas, sand dunes, shores, etc. It staysmostly on Pechora Pipit, and the brownish flesh base of the mandible is the ground and, when flushed, usuallyreturns to the ground, usuallymore extensiveand paler than that of the Red-throated although occasionallyit perchesin trees. Its flight call has Papat.Occasional Meadow Pipits have one (or rarely two) many variationsaround a high-pitched,squeaky tseep usually more conspicuousdark buffy stripes down each side of the repeatedas it flies up after being flushed, or a louder tiss•p. back, but these are rarely as prominent as those on the Red- Thesong is occasionally sung from a perchon a bushor fence, throated Pipit. On the folded wing in fresh plumage, the or the ground, but is usually delivered while fluttering in the longesttertiary normallyfalls at or just short of the wing tip air, during both the ascent from the ground and the descent and coversit, but in worn plumage,the longesttertiary can fall back to the earth. It is a "tinkling sequenceof similar, rather as much as 13 mm. short of the longestprimary. thin, feeble notes resemblingcall, gatheringspeed as the bard rises,and succeededon the descentby successionof a slightly The Meadow Pipit can be easilyseparated from non-breeding more musicalnotes ending in a trill." (Witherby et al., 1940).

andher analysis was very useful in prepar- 1968by IsraelProgram for ScientificTranslations, Relative distance between ingthis paper. Hall's paper includes com- Jerusalem).Vol. V. ß DUNN, J. 1976.The identifi- 3rd and 4th prin•aries cationof pipits.Western Tanager 42 (11):5. ß FAIR- pleteseries of measurementsfor all the BANK, R.J. 1980. Head patternsof olive-backed speciesof pipits as well as much descriptive Pipits. BritishBirds 73 (9):415-416.ß FAIR ISLE materialand meansfor the identification BIRD OBSERVATORY TRUST, 1977. Fair Isle bird reportfor 1976.Report 29. Fair Isle Bird Ob- of pipitsin the hand. servatoryTrust, 21 RegentTerr., EdinburghEH7 In summary,all these pipits can be iden- 5BT, United Kingdom.* FENNELL, C.M., and B.F. KING. 1964. New occurrencesand recentd•s- tifiedin thefield, but often only with ex- tributional recordsof Korean birds. Condor 66 treme care, and some of the more difficult (3):239-246.* GIBSON,D.D. 1979.Alaska region indentiflcationsrequire a gooddeal of Am. Birds33(5):799.* HALL, B.P. 1961.The taxo- Pechora Pipit Water Pipit nomyand identification of pipits( Anthus) fieldexperience aswall. I wouldvery much Bull.British Mus. (Natur. Hist.j Zool. 7(5):243-289 appreciatecomments and criticismfrom ß KESSEL, B., and D.D. GIBSON. 1978. Status thosewho usethis identificationmaterial and distribution of Alaska birds. Studies Awan in the field. Biol. l, CooperOrnithol. Soc. 100pp. ß KING, B.F., andE.C. DICKINSON.1975. A fieldguide to thebirds of South-EastAsia; covering Burma, Ma- Acknowledgements laya, Thailand, Cambodia,Vietnam, Laos and Hong Kong. Collins, London. ß KING, B. 1980 The second through fourth records for North I wishto thankDavis Finch, Dan Gibson,Peter J. Americaof thePechora Pipit, Antbus gustavi. Am Grant, Peter Hayman, Alan Kitsonand Will Russell Birds 34 (3):317-8. ß KITSON, A.R. 1979. Identifi- for providingmany good ideasand muchvaluable cation of OlivebackedPipit, Blyth's Pipit and criticismduring the preparation of thismanuscript. Pallas'sReed Bunting. British Birds 72 (3):94-100 ß GuyTudor made available some useful photographs MATTOCKS, JR., P.W., and E.S. HUNN. 1980 fromhis collection. John Yrizarry was of greatassis- Northern Pacific Coast region. Am. Birds 34 tance to Pieter Prall. The staff of the American Mu- (2):194.ß PETERSON,R.T. 1961.A fieldguide to seumof NaturalHistory kindly made available the westernbirds. 2nd ed. HoughtonMifflin, Boston ß collectionsand library in theircare. The tapesfrom --G. MOUNTFORT, and P.A.D. HOLLOM whichI madethe descriptionsof the songsof the 1974. A field guide to the birds of Britain and Waterand Sprague'spipits were kindly made avail- Europe.Collins, London. ß RIPLEY, S.D. 1961 A HESESEVEN PIPITS are muchthe ableto me by the Libraryof NaturalSounds of the synopsisof thebirds of Indiaand Pakistan, together samesize, their wing lengthsranging Laboratoryof Ornithologyat CornellUniversity. with thoseof Nepal,Sikkim, Bhutan and Ceylon The WaterPipit wasrecorded in RockyMountain BombayNatur. Hist. Soc., Bombay.p. 566 ß from 73-95 min.; tails 45-64 mm.; bills SMALL, A. 1974. The birds of California. W•n- 13-17 min.; tarsi 20-26 mm. The hinddaws NationalPark in Coloradoby R.C. Stein,R.B. Angstadtand J. and M. Douglass.The Sprague's chesterPress, New York. p. 116.ß VAURIE, C of the two tree-pipitsmeasure 7-10 mm. Pipit wasrecorded by R.S. Little and W.Y. Brockle- 1959.The birdsof thePalearctic fauna. A system- man in Montana. aticreference, Order Passeriformes. Witherby, Lon- and are stronglycurved, while the other don. ß WINTER, J., and S. LAYMON. 1979. M•d- fivehave longer, less strongly curved hind- die PacificCoast region. Am. Birds33(2):211 ß clawsthat measure9-15 mm. The.length of Bibliography WITHERBY, H.F., F.C.R. JOURDAIN, N F TICEHURST, and B.W. TUCKER. 1949. The the fourth primary(counting from the out- handbookof Britishbirds. Vol. 1. Witherby,Lon- AMERICAN ORNITHOLOGISTS' UNION. 1957. don. side)in relationto the third primaryis a Check-list of North American birds. Amer. Orni- helpful characterin specimendiagnosis. thol. Union. ß BURLEIGH, T.D. 1968.The Indian Seethe accompanyingidentification table Tree Pipit (Antbushodgsom) recorded for the first time in North Amerca. Auk 85(2):323. * American Museum of Natural History, for a summary of this measurement.Hall DEMENT'EV, G.P., N.A. GLADKOV et al. 1954. 15 West 77th Street, (1961) providedmost of the measurements Birdsof the SovietUnion. (Trans.from Russianin New York, NY 10024.

788 American Birds, September1981