Basic Principles
Finding a large pipit in Britain always makes for an exciting day, but it also brings some identification problems with it: is it a Richard’s Pipit (the most common option) or could it be something rarer?
Richard’s Pipit
This species has a large range, breeding from western Siberia to the Russian Far East and south to southern China. It winters in South-East Asia and the Indian subcontinent. Richard’s Pipit has had a long and convoluted taxonomic history, but similar taxa breeding in South-East Asia and Australasia (and once included within the species) are now treated separately.
It has long been recognised as a frequent autumn visitor to Britain, mostly in September and October and particularly on the east coast and in the South-West. However, it could be encountered anywhere, even inland. Birds have also been found here in winter and early spring.
This is the quintessential ‘large pipit’, wagtail sized and much larger than any Meadow Pipit. It is strong billed (almost like a thrush), long tailed and very long legged and, on the closest views, shows a remarkably long and strongly arched hind claw.
It favours rough grass, through which it walks smoothly and confidently, pausing frequently to adopt a distinctive tall, upright posture. It is a shy species, often difficult to observe on the ground, and flushing readily. However, even a flight view can be distinctive for it has a strong, bounding flight action and a frequent habit of hovering briefly on landing.
When seen on the ground, the species shows a rather bland face with noticeably pale, plain lores (though these can appear dark when viewed head on), a weakly lined mantle, a strong orange-buff wash on plain flanks which contrasts with a whiter belly, and a dark malar and ‘necklace’ of dark streaks across the upper breast. The overall plumage pattern is therefore very different from that of the small pipits.
The flight call is the species’ most distinctive feature, and it is usually found by this alone. It is a loud and far-carrying, harsh, rasping schrreeep, very like a House Sparrow.
Blyth’s Pipit
Blyth’s has a fairly small breeding range, mainly in Mongolia. It winters in the Indian subcontinent. The first live bird recorded in Britain was on Fair Isle in 1988, since when it has become established as a rare late autumn vagrant, with 29 accepted records. There have now also been occasional birds in winter and spring.
The identification of Blyth’s Pipit is not to be undertaken lightly, but is perhaps not the insurmountable problem it once was. This is essentially a smaller version of Richard’s Pipit – more akin to Tree Pipit in size. It is compact, with a shorter bill, legs and tail than Richard’s. Close views may reveal that its hind claw is also much shorter than that of Richard’s Pipit. It generally lacks the ‘aggressive’ upright posture of its larger cousin, preferring to creep around in the grass in the manner of a Tree Pipit. These structural and behavioural clues can be very useful and should be observed closely as plumage features are few.
The plumage very much resembles Richard’s Pipit (including its pale lores), but on average this species is more strongly and evenly streaked on the forehead and crown and has more uniformly orange-buff underparts and a weaker upper breast ‘necklace’. The ‘classic’ feature – the shape of the dark centres to the central median coverts – is subtle and hard to see, and in any case only applies to newly moulted adult feathers.
The best feature is the call – a long pscheeeoooo, a little rasping and similar to Richard’s Pipit, but distinctly softer, more reminiscent of Yellow Wagtail, and most importantly, often accompanied by diagnostic short chep calls.
Tawny Pipit
This species has a large range, breeding from Iberia and Morocco in the west through southern and central Europe to Mongolia in the east. It winters in Af rica just south of the Sahara, the Middle East, Pakistan and north-west India.
Previously classed as a scarce migrant to Britain, its numbers have decreased in recent years, and with fewer than 10 recorded in an average year, it is now treated as a national rarity. Birds reach us both as spring ‘overshoots’ and in autumn, with most records coming from southern Britain.
In size, this species approaches Richard’s Pipit, but is a little slimmer and more like a wagtail (but note the very pale legs), adopting a typically horizontal stance. It favours short (rather than long) grass and is therefore often much easier to observe. Close views will reveal an unremarkable hind claw.
There are plenty of plumage features to look for. In spring this is a pale, sandy bird, most similar in its overall hues to a Greater Short-toed Lark. Its upperparts are barely streaked, but its face is well-marked with a strong pale supercilium, dark eyestripe which (importantly) extends across the lores, dark markings in the crown sides and a dark lower border to the ear coverts. The median coverts are strongly dark centred, forming a prominent dark bar across the upper portion of the closed wing. The underparts are a very pale sand and, apart from a weak dark malar, almost unmarked.
Autumn birds in first-winter or adult plumage appear similar, but unmoulted juveniles are more scaly above, with pale fringes to the dark upperparts feathers, and may be more streaked across the upper breast. They may therefore suggest Richard’s Pipit, but the face pattern features remain valid.
Tawny Pipit has a variety of abrupt calls, rather similar to House Sparrow or Greater Short-toed Lark, but typically a loud chup.