Water Pipit

Overview

The water pipit (Anthus spinoletta) is a small passerine bird that breeds in the mountains of southern Europe and the Palearctic eastwards to China. It is a short-distance migrant, with many birds moving to lower altitudes or wet open lowlands during the winter.

Identification

• 15–17 cm in length with greyish-brown upperparts and pale pink-buff underparts in breeding plumage.
• Distinctive broad white supercilium and white outer tail feathers.
• Song consists of four or five blocks, each with about six repetitions of a different short note, delivered from a perch or in flight.
• Very wary and much less approachable than the Eurasian rock pipit, flying a significant distance before landing when disturbed.

Habitat

Predominantly a mountain species found in alpine pasture and high meadows with short grass, bushes, or rocks, typically close to wetter areas or on slopes. During the winter, it migrates to coastal wetlands, marshes, and rice fields, though some individuals remain at up to 2,000 m altitude.

Diet

Feeds mainly on invertebrates such as crickets, grasshoppers, beetles, snails, and spiders, which are primarily hunted on foot. It also consumes some plant material, and in certain areas algae may constitute a large portion of its diet by volume.

Did you know?

In a study on the border of Czechoslovakia and Poland, 75% of the diet by volume consisted of algae (Ulothrix zonata) despite the availability of large numbers of insects.