Olive-backed Pipit

Overview

The olive-backed pipit (Anthus hodgsoni) is a small passerine bird belonging to the pipit genus, also known as the Indian or Hodgson's pipit. It is a long-distance migrant that breeds across southern, north-central, and eastern Asia, as well as in north-eastern European Russia, and winters in southern Asia and Indonesia.

Identification

• Greenish brown upperparts streaked with darker brown, with a whiter supercilium and double wingbar; underparts are whitish to buff and streaked with dark brown on the breast and flanks.
• Approximately 15 cm in length, slightly larger than a sparrow, with sexes that are alike in appearance.
• Song is lark-like and similar to the tree pipit but faster and higher-pitched, often given on the wing, along with a single 'tseep' or 'spek' call.

Habitat

It prefers open country, breeding in groves and wooded biotopes from the Himalayan region across China and Korea to Japan and north-eastern Europe. During winter, it occupies evergreen woodland across broad southern regions of Asia, extending to Southeast Asia and the Philippines.

Diet

The species feeds largely on insects, supplemented by grass and weed seeds. Foraging behaviour involves running about on the ground to search for food, and the bird will fly up into trees when disturbed, exhibiting a jerky and undulating flight pattern.

Did you know?

The species was named in honour of the English diplomat and collector Brian Houghton Hodgson. It has occasionally been recorded as a rare vagrant in western Europe.