Species

American pipit

Anthus rubescens

A slim, tail-bobbing brown bird of bare winter fields, which breeds on Arctic tundra and mountaintops.

Photo kayler09 (opens in a new tab) / iNaturalist, CC BY 4.0 (opens in a new tab)

At a glance

Size: About 15 to 17 cm long
Weight: About 18 to 28 g
Habitat: Ploughed fields, short grass, mudflats and shores in winter
Diet: Insects and seeds
In Georgia: A fairly common winter visitor
Voice: A thin "pip-it"
Rabies vector: No

Identification

Key marks: Slim; grey-brown above; buff below with streaks; thin bill; white outer tail feathers; bobs its tail
Told apart from: Sparrows, which have thick bills and do not bob their tails
Told apart from: Horned lark, which has a black face pattern
Where to look: Flocks in ploughed fields and short grass in winter

Behaviour

American pipits walk rather than hop and bob their tails constantly. They form flocks in winter on open ground.

Why they matter

Pipits breed on Arctic tundra and high mountain meadows and winter in open fields across the South, eating many insects in both places.

Reproduction and lifecycle

Nest — A cup on the ground in tundra or alpine meadow
Eggs — Usually four or five
Incubation — About 13 to 16 days
Chicks — Fed by both parents
Lifespan — Several years

Living around people

Bare fields in winter are their feeding grounds.

Misconceptions

Brown birds in fields are sparrows. Tail-bobbing brown birds with thin bills are pipits.

Related species

Seasonal activity

When this species is breeding, and when there are nests on the ground. Mowing during the shaded months is how most nests are found.

Breeding and active nests by month for this species
	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Breeding	Jan: no	Feb: no	Mar: no	Apr: no	May: no	Jun: no	Jul: no	Aug: no	Sep: no	Oct: no	Nov: no	Dec: no
Active nests	Jan: no	Feb: no	Mar: no	Apr: no	May: no	Jun: no	Jul: no	Aug: no	Sep: no	Oct: no	Nov: no	Dec: no
Notes	Wintering flocks	Wintering	Wintering	Leaving	Nesting in the far north and high mountains	Nesting	Chicks	Moving south	Migrating	Arriving	Wintering	Wintering

Where it lives

Recorded in 87 states and provinces. Each one links to the other animals there, and to the rehabilitators licensed for them.

United States

Canada

If you found one

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