Peruvian Pipit

Overview

The Peruvian pipit (Anthus peruvianus) is a small bird species in the family Motacillidae. It was recently recognised as a full species in 2018 after being treated as a subspecies of the yellowish pipit for much of the twentieth century.

Identification

• Measures 13 to 14 cm in length and is one of the smallest members of the genus Anthus.
• Brown upperparts with dark streaks and white "braces" on the shoulders; wings show two pale bars.
• Whitish underparts with a band of dark brown streaks across the breast; weak whitish supercilium and thin white eye-ring.
• Song consists of one or several introductory notes followed by a descending sizzle; call is a dry "chit-it".

Habitat

Found in a thin coastal band from Piura Department in far northwestern Peru to Arica Province in extreme northwestern Chile. In Peru, it inhabits marshes, pastures, and agricultural fields up to 450 m elevation, while in Chile it prefers short grass on sandy soils up to 100 m.

Diet

The diet includes insects and is thought to include seeds. The bird forages by walking and running on the ground.

Did you know?

For much of the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, it was considered a subspecies of the yellowish pipit before being reclassified as a distinct species following a 2018 study.